


Sun and Moon

by WolfieSharBear



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-24
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2018-09-01 21:01:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 48,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8637925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfieSharBear/pseuds/WolfieSharBear
Summary: One second can change everything. One second was crucial in the outcome of many lives during the Newborn War. One second changed the life for Aidan Hallowell, resulting in her running for her life. Fate eventually lead her to Forks where she met a pack of wolves that further changed her life. At a time when she wasn't looking for love, she found it in the pack's Alpha, a man who would do anything and be anything for her. Jacob Black would be her protector, a friend, and even a lover when she was ready. Now, he will also be her personal sun. Though, life wasn't going to be easy for them; fate has more in store for Aidan...and Jacob.





	1. New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> This story is also on Fanfiction.net.

**June 2006**

Riley lunged at Edward in hopes to distract him just for a second. That was all the time Victoria needed to get her hands on Bella.

The sound of rock clashing rang through the clearing as Riley got to Edward. Fear and disbelief flashed in Edward’s tawny eyes as Riley collided with him, taking his attention away from Bella.

She was unprotected.

Victoria wrapped her cold, stoney hand around Bella’s neck, her nails digging into the soft flesh. Triumph filled the vampire’s face as Bella quivered in fear, her hands gripping Victoria’s wrist.

A feral growl erupted as Seth leapt at Riley and took him off of Edward. Edward was on Victoria, ripping her away from his mate, gripping her head in his hands and snapping her neck, working to pull her body apart. But the damage was done.

As Victoria was pulled from Bella, her nails sliced deep, rupturing an artery. Bella gasped and fell to her knees, her hands at her neck as tears flowed freely from her eyes.

Seth continued to drag Riley into the forest where he ripped the vampire apart, changing to set the remains a flame.

Edward turned to Bella and agony took hold of him as he saw the blood spilling from her neck like a waterfall. She was dying. He yelled and lunged at her, grabbing her shoulders to pull her close. He sank his teeth into her flesh along her shoulder, letting the venom enter her bloodstream and move through her body. Fearing that it wouldn’t be enough due to the gaping wound in her neck, he took her right wrist and bit the soft flesh, letting more venom enter her body.

\---

Bella’s transformation took two and a half days. After which the Cullen’s knew they had to leave. While it had been done to save her life, Edward still changed a human. This was something that went against the La Push Treaty.

They caused a gas leak in the house, resulting in a small explosion and the house burning down. What little remains were left of the newborns and Victoria were used to act as the Cullen family and Bella in order to fake their deaths.

It pained Bella greatly to do this to her father, but she knew it was better this way. With the house still burning, the Cullen family left Forks forever.

**Ten Years Later**

It was a particularly nice day in Forks, Washington. It took a while for things to return to normal after the newborn battle and the “death” of the Cullen's and Bella, but eventually it happened and the town resumed being a small town where nothing happened.

At least, until someone bought the Cullen property and construction started. It took nearly three months to get the new house built, and no one knew when the new owner would be arriving.

Though, everyone was interested. Including some of the La Push residents.

\---

A ruby red Ford Focus Electric with tinted windows entered Forks as the sun began to rise, not that anyone would be able to watch a sunrise with the overcast weather. The car continued on the highway, pulling off before continuing towards La Push. The driver slowed the car, looking for the right street, turning and entering a road with no distinct streets. The driver slammed on the brakes after a little while and reversed, having barely missed the desired turn.

The car turned onto a lane that wound through trees for a short time before opening up to a fairly clear opening where a house stood at the end. The car stopped in front of the house as the driver stared through the tinted windows at the two story house in front of them.

It was a two story house with a garage port to the right. While the original house had once had windows for walls, this house seemed fairly normal, with the addition of large windows to allow light in on sunny days, however few. The outside of the house had grey bricks in two different shades, a light grey for most of the exterior, but a darker grey encompassed two feet high on the bottom of the house. This house was built specifically at the new owner’s request with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a spacious living room, a large kitchen, a dining room, as well as a dance studio attached to the house.

After a few moments, the car pulled around the right side of the house where the double garage door was opening and it pulled into the farthest spot before its engine was cut.

The car door opened and a woman stepped out. Even in a pair of skinny jeans tucked into heeled boots, one would use the term “legs for days” for her. She stood at five feet ten inches with a slim build that matched her height. No one could say she was tall and lanky. Her caramel brown hair fell in waves down to the middle of her back. Along with the dark skinny jeans and brown heeled boots, she wore a brown round neck sweater that hugged her curves, accentuating her breasts.

Almond shaped eyes looked around the currently empty garage. Anyone who saw her eyes would stare for the longest time, amazed at the mixture of emerald green and cognac. Every day she was around people she heard just how beautiful her eyes were. The two colors blended together in a burst from the pupil with the cognac around the pupil, mixing together but still managing to be separate from one another.

She had high cheekbones, with a straight nose that rounded a little at the tip. Her full lips were naturally a deep pink, one would describe them as kissable. Her hair framed her face in a tapered layered effect, though not giving her bangs of any sort. Something about her seemed radiant. Maybe it was her soft, sun kissed skin. It was that perfectly tanned color that some pale women killed for.

Though, anyone could tell it was something more than just healthy skin, even if they couldn’t name it.

The tall, vibrant woman shifted the purse she was holding to her shoulder and took the special charging cable from the wall in front of the car and plugged it into the port on the driver’s side about the front tire. She stepped over the cord and walked in front of the car to the door that would lead into the house. Pulling the silver key from among her key ring, she unlocked the door and stepped inside. Everything was dark due to the lack of sunlight. She felt along the wall, knowing there should be a light switch to her left. Sure enough there was a light switch and she flicked it on. Light filled the short hallway. Straight ahead of her the glass door allowed her to see the dance studio she had requested.

A small smile pulled at her lips as she saw the studio. She was already itching to dance.

Almost immediately to her right was a door that lead to a bathroom. The door next to that revealed a closet that could be used as storage. It would probably remain empty for the time being.

She looked at the studio again, fighting the urge to dance. She had to get ready for the moving truck.

She continued to move through the house, turning on lights as she went and inspecting the new building.

With a couple of hours until the moving truck arrived, she retrieved a few boxes from her car and put them on the counters in the kitchen. She began to unpack them, one box containing bottles red and white wine that she put in a built in wine fridge under the counter. A small cubby was built in next to the wine fridge that she slid wine glasses from another box into the built in groves. Eight wine glasses fit just under the counter and she put more stemless wine glasses on a shelf that was just below the hanging wine glasses.

The other two boxes were more kitchen items that she unpacked before sitting on the stairs in the foyer to wait for the movers. When they finally arrived after eight in the morning, a moving crew quickly began making work of moving the items in the truck into the house.

The woman instructed the movers where everything would be going, her expression neutral as she tried to stay out of the way. Due to the fact that she was alone, the moving crew stayed until all of the furniture was where she wanted it and the boxes, what few there were, were placed in their respective rooms.

When the moving crew left it was well past noon. She stood in the entryway to the living room, staring at a box on top of the round table in the breakfast room to the right that was attached to the kitchen. It was one of the last boxes to have been brought in from the truck. The delicate and foreign script almost made her heart stop.

**_Aidan’s Pictures._ **

She didn’t have any pictures, everything had been burned to a crisp in the fire a decade ago.

Sadness gripped her heart as she walked over to the table and peeled the tape off of the box. She slowly opened the flaps of the box to see a silver looking envelope with her name in the same script as on the box sitting on top of what looked to be photo albums. She lifted it and turned it over to see a wax seal with a crescent moon keeping the letter closed.

Breaking the seal, Aidan pulled out the letter and began to read it, her eyes beginning to shine with tears.

_Our Little Flame,_

_We have been unable to protect you from those that wish to do you harm, for that we are all sorry. We have all seen our fair share of children come and go, but you have become more than just another child, you have stolen our hearts and we regret that we can not keep you safe._

_While your life is your own and you must live it on your own, we want to do what we can for you. Ensuring that your family’s estate rests in your hands once again, giving you all the material possessions we could, and pointing you in the right direction is all that we can do._

_Returning to you the past you lost because of us. Finding a place where you could settle down and call home._

_This is all that we can do for you, little flame. Your mother, her soul happy within the Elysian Fields, wanted you to live and be happy. We cannot use our divine powers to ensure your safety, but we can use them to help make you happy._

_The past is just that, the past. Stop running, accept what happened and work towards a new future. Remember who you are, where you came from, and think about where you want to go. It’s okay to let yourself be happy. We hope that these memories will help you remember that you could be happy, that you were happy once._

_With love,_

_Artemis_

_P.S. Should you need us, you have the woods surrounding you and the ocean close by. We will come when you call._

Aidan rubbed the tears from her eyes as her body began to glow softly. She shook her head and the glow disappeared. Setting the letter on the table she took out the first album and sat down.

She only had to open it to the first page to feel the sadness grip at her heart and a lump form in her throat as she fought tears again.

Aidan Hallowell: Birth - 5 years, was written on the front page in a cursive that she recognized as her mother’s. A sonogram picture of a baby in the womb just below it.

Turning the page, Aidan got stuck staring at the beautiful woman in a bed with a wooden headboard holding an almost golden child bundled in a white blanket. The woman had short brown hair that was wavy and tucked behind her ears, matted only slightly from what Aidan knew was a hot room. She was sweating, her face flushed, but she was smiling brightly as she looked at the baby in her arms.

The picture just below had to have been taken moments after the first, but the woman was looking up at the camera with an adoring smile. Her stormy grey eyes were sparkling joyously.

Aidan shut her eyes tightly, the pain gripping at her heart and her body beginning to glow again. She stood up from the table, shutting the photo album and walking away.

She couldn’t face the past, not yet. Maybe not ever.

\---

The rest of the day Aidan unpacked the boxes in her bedroom. The boxes of clothes took her hours to go through, she hadn’t seen most of the clothes before she started unpacking them so it was all new to her.

Everything in the house was new to her. She had spent the past decade running, keeping only necessities with her as she traveled all over the States and up into Canada. She had taken some time to get her GED, to say that she got it, but only death followed and she ran again.

Aidan had never stayed in one place for too long. This was the first time she had her own home since her mother died.

The walk-in closet attached to the master bath was more of a small room and was still half empty after unpacking all of the clothes, shoes, and purses that had filled half a dozen large boxes. She opened the sliding door on the opposite end of the room and found herself in the laundry room. She deposited the broken down boxes in there before returning to her bathroom where she unpacked a couple of boxes that had an assortment of body care items and other bathroom necessities.

When her stomach complained loudly, Aidan left her unpacking task to return downstairs where she didn’t look at the photo album or box and went straight for the kitchen. There wasn’t much for her to eat just yet, so she settled for the power bars and jerky she had brought with her.

After the quick break she returned the unpacking her bedroom and making sure that felt like home.

She didn’t pay attention to the time, just finished organizing her bathroom before moving to the bedroom. There she set up sheer light blue curtains on the two large windows. A matching canopy was set up over her four poster California King sized bed that was set up against the wall to the left of the room.

A yawn escaped her as soon as she started making the bed, the light grey silk sheets cool on her skin. She looked at her phone on the charger on the nightstand and found that it was only after nine. She hadn’t done any of the heavy lifting, but having spent most of the previous night awake driving, the exhaustion was finally catching up with her.

She turned off all the lights in the house and made sure the doors were all locked before she returned to her bedroom and shut that door, also locking it, before stripping completely and slipping underneath the silk sheets.

\---

For four days after Aidan moved in the sky continued to be mostly overcast with little hope for sunshine. With the pain from having her past in a box in her closet, all she wanted was to feel the sun on her skin and to feel the comfort that usually came with a caring hug when the sunlight touched her.

Everyday after she first moved in was spent familiarizing herself with the new house and all of her new belongings. She moved through each room as she organized it until all the boxes and packaging were in the garage ready to get taken away with the weekly trash pickup. She had taken the box full of memories up into her bedroom closet, stashing it away in the back alcove on a top shelf.

On her fifth day in Forks the clouds finally gave way to fairly clear skies. She had stopped her morning dance practice to close her eyes and soak in the warmth that the sun provided. After her two hours of dance was finished she simply rinsed off in her luxury shower and changing into a simple black bikini, a blue short sleeved dress with a scooped neckline that stopped just above her knees, and black lace up mid-calf boots with grey knee high socks.. With a beach towel, phone, and book, large water bottle, and a couple of power bars in a backpack, she put her sunglasses on and went to her car.

In her breaks from unpacking she had utilized google maps to look at the surrounding area. This revealed the beaches of La Push.

Before driving, Aidan looked at the best way to what was called Second Beach. There had been another beach that would have been more ideal, Third Beach, but she didn’t want to spend the better part of an hour just trying to get to the beach.

The drive went by fairly quickly and she parked along the side of the road close to the Second Beach Trail. After locking the car and putting her backpack on, cell phone secure within, she started for the trail. It was a weekday, close to nine in the morning so there weren’t many people on the trail.

The air was crisp and refreshing on her hot skin. While walking in the woods was normal to Aidan, these woods felt different to her. She could almost feel magic in the air and it brought a smile to her full lips. She looked up at the canopy of trees above her, her sunglasses shielding her eyes from the rays of sunshine that managed to break through.

The sounds of birds chirping and animals scurrying through the trees and along the forest floor brought a sense of calm washing over her. If there were sounds of other critters she knew there was no danger.

The closer she got to the ocean the stronger the pull became. It wasn’t a strong pull, not as much as it would have been for one of her cousins, but it was there. After walking for about fifteen minutes she could finally see the ocean through the trees. Her smile grew bigger as her steps quickened until she was out of the trees and standing on sand.

The waves crashed along the beach, and she walked closer towards it. She looked around and found some driftwood out of the reach of the waves. She changed course and dropped her backpack on top, sitting on the driftwood to unlace her boots and peel them and her socks off. The cool sand on her feet made her sigh.

Standing, Aidan took her sunglasses off and set them down next to her backpack before she pulled her dress over her head, four small crescent shaped scars just under her right collarbone revealed, and dropped it on top of her backpack before walking towards the waves.

Excitement filled her chest as she felt the water licking at her toes before receding. She continued moving further in, the waves crashing against her. The sudden shock of cold water against her hot skin made her gasp.

It was shocking at first, but after a moment she adjusted and dove under the waves, letting her entire body to be submerged in the cold water. She continued to swim underwater for a few moments before angling back towards the surface. Breaking the surface she took a breath and opened her eyes, her body bobbing slightly with the water as she kicked her legs to keep afloat.

The feeling of being in the water with the sun shining down on her had her feel extremely relaxed. She started leaning back until she was floating, her arms outstretched and her eyes closed as she let herself soak in the wonderful feeling of belonging.

After what felt like hours, though only minutes had passed, Aidan swam back to shore. She walked back to her backpack and pulled her towel out, laying it out on the driftwood and the sand before sitting on it, leaning against the driftwood. She allowed the sunlight and her naturally high body heat to dry the water on her skin.

She leaned her head back on the driftwood and closed her eyes, soaking up the sun and letting it comfort her, pushing away the sadness and emptiness she had been feeling for days.

“Haven’t seen you around here before,” a deep voice called from somewhere to Aidan’s right.

Fear and alarm filled her heart as her eyes snapped open and she jumped slightly, her whole body going rigid as she looked to her right to find a large man with dark skin a few feet from her. He was dressed in only a pair of dark swim trunks, his chest bare. He was attractive and well built.

He raised his hands in the air at shoulder level in a non-threatening gesture at her sudden rigid posture and alarmed eyes. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” he said with a small smile. “My name’s Seth,” he continued.

Aidan could still hear the sound of birds in the trees behind her; she was in no immediate danger. Slowly, she relaxed and moved to sit on the driftwood. “Aidan,” she responded finally.

The man smiled and let his hands fall to his side. “So what brings you to Second Beach? Usually tourists go to First Beach, and you don’t seem like a camper,” he nodded at the fairly small backpack next to her.

Aidan looked him in the eye, trying to feel for any negativity from him. The only thing she saw in his brown eyes was honest curiosity, and what was probably attraction. She averted her eyes to look at the ocean. “I actually just moved to Forks, I figured I would visit this beach since it’s a little out of the way,” she admitted, glancing over at him.

“Oh, are you the one who built that new house on the old Cullen property?” he asked, his voice almost excited as he walked over to sit on the sand a couple feet from her.

She tensed slightly and looked at him, her eyes cautious. Though, looking at him, Aidan kind of felt like she was looking at a puppy even though he looked like he was in his twenties. He was giving off a kind and warming aura that it made her relax against the driftwood.

“Uh, yeah,” she mumbled.

“So how come you moved to Forks?” he asked crossing his legs and leaning on his arms, his hand on his ankles.

The question had her biting her bottom lip as she looked at him for a moment before looking at the ocean again. She had hoped he wouldn’t ask that question. She wasn’t much of a liar, truth ran in her blood. “I…” she hesitated before looking at the partly cloudy sky, looking for a sign.

As if granting her wish, the sun shone brightly down on them as a particularly large cloud began to break apart. Her two toned eyes looked at the clouds that were dispersing and thinning, unable to block the sun from her view.

Her heart throbbed slightly as she looked back at the crashing waves on the shoreline. If she had been anyone else, she would have considered that a huge coincidence, but she knew better.

With a soft sigh she looked back at the handsome man waiting patiently for her answer. “I moved here because Carlisle Cullen said I would be protected,” she told him in a quiet, matter-of-fact tone.

Silence fell between them, the sound of the crashing waves and birds chirping in the forest the only sounds filling the air between them. She watched him closely, waiting to see the doubt and the frown as he called her crazy. She had been told that the Cullen’s were believed to be dead, that they made people think they were dead.

Finally, Seth nodded and smiled slightly at her. “Esme called a few weeks ago and gave us a heads up that you would be arriving. We just had to be sure you were the girl she was talking about,” he leaned back on his hands. “Though, she didn’t say why you needed protection.”

Aidan breathed a sigh of relief as she looked at her feet on the ground. “It’s kind of a long story,” she started before something he said finally registered. She frowned and looked at him again. “You said ‘we,’ who’s ‘we’?”

Seth grinned and motioned towards the woods with his head.

She looked at the forest and frowned when she didn’t see anything. Her bright eyes scanned the trees, searching but still not finding anything. “What am I…?” her voice caught in her throat as she finally saw a large figure step into view within the trees.

It was massive, about as tall as a full grown horse. Russet colored fur contrasted against the brown and green of the forest. And its eyes were such a soft chocolate brown.

Aidan gasped as her eyes met with the wolf’s eyes. Its chocolate orbs filled with so many different emotions that she didn’t know where to begin. Her heart clenched in her chest and her throat constricted as she saw two shimmering gold threads in her peripherals appear in the space between them. She was unable to tear her eyes from the wolf’s eyes as the two golden threads became entangled together, giving a soft pinkish red glow before disappearing from her sight.

She bolted up and stepped backward. The sudden movement caused her to fall backwards on her butt and the wolf took a step forward, its eyes wide with concern.

Seth jumped from his spot and rushed to her, his eyes wide and mouth open in shock. “Are you okay?” he asked as he helped her to her feet.

Aidan nodded numbly as she watched the wolf take another step towards them, emerging from the forest. Seth looked at her with wide eyes before looking at the wolf with a shocked look.

The wolf took another tentative step towards them and Aidan took a step back, moving closer to the ocean, pulling her arm from Seth’s grip. The wolf stopped moving and continued to stare at her, it’s dark eyes flashing with pain for a moment before lowering.

Seth looked to Aidan with a concerned look. “He won’t hurt you,” he whispered, clearly taking her reaction to be fear.

And in a sense, she was afraid, but it wasn’t because there was a massive wolf in front of her. She was afraid of what she saw in the air between them. Threads of fate joining and shining a soft pinkish red color. She had heard stories about it.

Soulmates.

Emotion choked her and Aidan shook her head. “I can’t,” she whispered as she took another step back. “I can’t do this, not again,” she choked on her words before turning and running into the ocean.

“Aidan!” Seth cried out after her.

She threw herself into the ocean with one word slipping past her lips before she was submerged in the water. “Aphrodite.”

Slender arms wrapped around Aidan’s body as she felt the water rushing past her.

“Little flame, why are you running?” a musical voice asked as they found their way into an underwater cove.

Aidan opened her eyes and looked at the golden beauty holding her. The water was surrounding them in a bubble. She looked at the woman with tears in her eyes, her own skin beginning to glow softly, but not coming close to the brilliant glow the blonde Goddess had.

Aphrodite’s brilliant violet eyes softened as she tucked Aidan’s wet hair behind her ear. “You shouldn’t be afraid of him, little flame.”

“I’m afraid of what will happen, of what I’ll do,” she admitted as she lowered her head onto the Goddess’s shoulder.

The Goddess lowered her head on top of Aidan’s as she held her. “You have more control than before, you won’t lose control,” she said softly.

Aidan flinched in her arms. “I haven’t experienced such intense emotions like that since the accident. How do you know I won’t lose control?” she asked tensely.

Aphrodite took Aidan by the shoulders and held her at arm's length, a serious look in her violet eyes. “Because he’s your soulmate. You two were made for each other. This is my specialty, Aidan. Besides, I’m not telling you to jump right in and have sex with him right away!”

Aidan’s face grew hot, but her glow remained constant. Aphrodite laughed and let her go. “See? Your powers didn’t escalate, you have more control. You just have to take things slow, get to know him, get used to him,” she placed a finger under Aidan’s chin and lifted her head slightly so that she was looking into her eyes. “You deserve to be happy, Aidan. It took me a decade to find him for you, and honestly, I only managed to find him with the help of Artemis. The souls of those wolves are protected from other Gods,” she explained with a pout. “Such a shame that I didn’t know about them sooner, did you see that one with you?” she made an appreciative sound, a dreamy look in her eyes.

“Aro!” Aidan exclaimed, using the nickname she had called the Goddess when she was a child.

Aphrodite laughed as she took the other woman’s hand. “Don’t be so embarrassed, Aidan, you’re twenty six! Now go on, your man is desperately searching for you,” she said as the water crashed in on them before Aidan could do or say anything.

The sudden loss of air shocked Aidan as she felt herself being hurled away from the Goddess, bubbles surrounding her as she was pushed away from the ocean floor and the cove they had been in.

Stop running, little flame. Let yourself be happy, the musical voice of the Goddess of Love echoed in her head as she clenched her eyes tightly from the torrent of water and bubbles surrounding her.

As the rough waves took hold of her, the bubbles that had been guiding her towards the beach dissipated. She tumbled in the water as the waves took her by surprise. Her lungs burned with the need for air as she fought to try and get her bearings.

Large arms encircled her and pulled her close to a large, bare chest. Surprise at the heat took her breath away and air escaped her, the bubbles rushing to the surface.

The man broke the surface and they both gasped for air.

“He found her!” Aidan barely heard the yell over the sound of the waves and the heavy breathing of the man holding her.

She stared straight at the glistening chest, afraid to look up. Her heart was racing and her skin was tingling where ever he was touching her.

“Are you hurt?” his voice was deep, but it was soft with concern. An overwhelming feeling of peace filled her and she instantly felt bad for having run from this man. Was there some way that he knew of their connection, of the fact that they were soulmates?

Aidan finally lifted her head to look up at the man holding her. His chocolate brown eyes were looking down at her, concern and adoration filling their depths. Her throat clenched at the intensity in his eyes. Never had she seen anyone look like that. Not even Nick had looked at her like that.

He knew.

“Are you okay?” he whispered, one arm reaching up to move hair out of her face as the other hand continued to hold her close.

Aidan tore her gaze from his and nodded, her face growing hot at her body brightening slightly. “Cold,” she lied.

The man snorted in laughter but started to swim towards shore with her still in his grasp.

Aidan frowned and lightly pushed away from him. “I can swim,” she argued softly. She felt him hesitate before letting her go, but she refused to look at him. She wasn’t ready to look into his eyes again, she needed to get a hold of her emotions.

When he finally let go of her, Aidan took a breath and dove underwater, opening her eyes to see where she was going. For a split second her eyes burned with the salt, but the feeling disappeared quickly as she began to swim.

Surprise filled her as she felt the heat of her soulmate next to her. She glanced over to see that he was keeping up with her, though not underwater.

Curiosity filled her as she wondered just how fast he could swim. While she might not be the daughter of Aphrodite or Poseidon, neither of them let her go without learning how to swim. Her mother had made sure to take her to the ocean every summer where she spent most of her time in the water.

Pain stabbed at her heart as she remembered her mother, but the warmth radiating from this man swimming next to her was dulling the pain.

She shook her head and flicked her legs a little harder, keeping her hands together in front of her to slice through the water. As they neared the shore, Aidan felt her lungs burning for air and she broke the surface. He had nearly caught up with her.

Laughter bubbled up in her chest and she pushed forward, diving under again and continuing towards shore. That split second gave him the opportunity to catch up with her.

Aidan let the waves take her to shore. She stumbled on the sand before falling to her butt, the waves crashing over her legs. She looked at the ocean to see a grinning man walking towards her.

Without really knowing why, she started laughing.

The man who had ‘saved’ her stopped, still waist deep in water to stare at her. He was both confused and amazed at the sound of her laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Seth asked from behind her. He was dripping wet, apparently he had been in the ocean looking for her, too.

Aidan leaned back on her hands and tilted her head back to look at Seth, a smile on her face. “I guess it’s only funny to me that you all thought I was in danger,” she admitted as she lifted her head to look at the man in the ocean who was now frowning.

“It’s funny that we thought you were dead? There was a shark heading right towards where you jumped in!” he exclaimed.

The waves crashed against her legs as she stood up. “You don’t understand, nothing in the ocean will harm me,” she started to explain when the waves receded and the water level reached below his waist. She yelped and turned quickly, turning her back to him as her face grew hot and her her body started glowing again.

Seth groaned and tossed a pair of shorts at the man, “Clothes, please.”

“Why wouldn’t anything in the ocean harm you?” the man asked as he caught the shorts and put them on, walking further onto shore to get out of the water.

Covering her face with her hands, Aidan walked over to her belongings. “They recognize family,” she mumbled.

“Family? You’re part fish?!” another man exclaimed as he ran up to them.

Aidan snorted in laughter as she sat on her towel on top of the driftwood, her bikini already starting to dry. “Do I look like I’m part fish?” she looked at the new man and was starting to understand what Aphrodite meant.

While she found she was attracted to the man who was her soulmate, she could see that this new man and Seth were very attractive. Though, there wasn’t much difference between them - they were all extremely muscular, taller than six feet, and cropped black hair. And they seemed to prefer to not wear a shirt, though she wondered if this was due to them being a wolf.

“Well, no, but why else would you say they’re family?” the new guy crossed his arms over his large chest as he frowned.

By now all three of them were standing a few feet in front of her, her soulmate wearing a pair of black and grey swim trunks.

Aidan looked at them for a moment before sighing and looking at the ground. They didn’t seem as infatuated with her like other humans did.

Well, except for the larger man. He was still staring at her with the same adoration behind the confusion.

“Poseidon is my great uncle,” she said softly, “I’m the daughter of Apollo.”


	2. Opening the Door

Silence followed Aidan’s admission to being the daughter of Apollo. She peeked a glance to see them all staring at her with wide eyes, the new man even had his mouth open in shock.

“Apollo, as in the Greek God of the sun?” Seth asked in amazement. He seemed to be completely open to the idea. At Aidan’s nod he seemed to light up. “They exist? That’s awesome! What are they like?” he asked, almost bouncing with excitement.

It was now Aidan’s turn to stare at him with wide eyes. “You believe me?”

He shrugged with a grin. “Sure, why not? From what I can tell there’s shape shifters like us, vampires, and real werewolves that turn all beast like on the full moon. Why would it be surprising that Gods are real, too?” he asked.

Aidan opened her mouth to respond but found that she had nothing to say to that. “Huh, you have an excellent point. Though, if that’s how you’re thinking, start believing in it all, buddy. You’d be surprised what’s actually out there,” she shuddered at her experiences as well as the stories she’d been told as a child.

Before Seth could ask more questions, the larger man that was Aidan’s soul mate lifted his hand to silence him. “Is that why you’re being hunted by vampires? Because you’re the daughter of a God?” he asked seriously.

Aidan looked at him and quickly looked away. His chocolate brown eyes were dark and serious, filled with a hatred that she knew wasn’t for her but still struck her heart in a way that pushed the fluttering emotions away. “Yes,” she whispered as a cloud passed over the sun, darkening the sky.

“Why?”

Aidan tensed up as she grabbed her dress and pulled it on. “The blood of a demi-God strengthens all of their abilities and allows them to blend in with humans for days, if not months depending on how diluted the blood is. Unfortunately for me, I have more than the average demi-God,” she told them as she grabbed for her socks.

“What do you mean?” he asked with a frown.

Pulling on one sock she looked up at him. “My mother was a descendant to two families who have the blood of Aphrodite and Athena. While her Olympian blood was pretty diluted, it was enough to add to mine from Apollo and make my demi-God status stronger than if I just had Apollo in my lineage,” she explained, pulling the other sock on.

Silence.

“So what does that make you?” the newer man asked.

Aidan shrugged as she looked down and pulled her boots on. “Just another demi-God, but with more potent Olympian blood. It doesn’t change that I was born to a human and am still partially human. It just means that if I use my powers a vampire within a certain distance can sense me and will start hunting. If they’re close enough, I don’t even need to use my powers for them to smell me,” she told them as she laced her boots. 

The larger man cursed and looked at Seth and the other man. “Embry, get back out there and patrol south and southeast. Seth, pick up the patrol north, northeast. I’ll take Aidan home and tell the rest of the pack.”

Before Aidan could say anything the other two were already running into the forest. She stood up and frowned at the man standing in front of her. “I can take myself home,” she argued as she gathered her towel and backpack. “Besides, who said I wanted your company? I don’t even know your name.”

The man looked at her with an arched brow and she felt her heart skip a beat. “The name’s Jacob, but you can call my Jake. And aren’t you the one who came here looking for protection?” he asked with a lopsided grin.

Aidan’s cheeks flushed as she stuffed the towel into her backpack and quickly turned away. She was too embarrassed to answer, he was right, she did move to Forks because she had been told there would be protection here. “I’m sure nothing will happen to me in the sixteen minutes it take me to walk back to my car,” she muttered as she started for the trail.

Jacob fell in step next to her, his warm presence obvious and almost looming over her. She didn’t know how she felt about this man standing so much taller than her. It wasn’t every day that someone was taller than her that wasn’t the Olympians. 

“Well, consider this a precaution,” he said as he laced his fingers together behind his head. “So, tell me about yourself, Aidan, daughter of Apollo.”

She glanced up at him to see that he was grinning down at her. She quickly looked away, focusing on the trail ahead of them. She didn’t want to admit it, but his presence was like being wrapped in a warm blanket in the winter, or like feeling the sun on her skin and feeling her worries being pushed away. It was nice and rather relaxing, but she was still scared to let herself relax completely. 

“What do you want to know?” she asked, not really sure what to tell him.

Jacob chuckled, “Ideally, everything, but I’ll settle for whatever you want to tell me right now.”

Aidan sighed and shook her head. Ideally, she didn’t want to say anything, her story brought up too much pain and she wasn’t ready to handle that pain.

She remained silent as she thought about what she could tell him. “Oh,” she said out loud when she realized what she could tell him. “I love to dance!” she said with a bright smile.

His eyes softened at the smile on her face. “What kind of dance?” he asked her curiously.

“Ballet,” she revealed with a smile that reached her eyes and made her seem to glow without the actual glowing. 

“How long have you been dancing?” he inquired as he continued to watch her expressions.

An almost sad look replaced the smile in her eyes as she looked up at the canopy of leaves above them. “My mother had me in dance classes when I was five. I’ve been dancing ever since,” her voice was soft and had a sad note to it. “Dance has been one of the only things that has given me control over my emotions and powers,” she admitted as she shrugged one shoulder out of the backpack strap. She retrieved the water bottle from within before putting the strap on her shoulder again.

Realizing that he hadn’t had anything to drink for as long as she’d met him, Aidan offered the bottle to him.

Jake lowered his arms from his head and took the bottle. “You sure? I might have some contagious disease,” he joked. At her nod he started to drink from the bottle.

“We’re soul mates, it’s not like I can avoid you for the rest of my life,” she shrugged nonchalantly as she kept walking.

Her comment had him choking on the water which made her stop and look back at him. He was bent over at the waist slightly, coughing. Aidan lifted a brow at him as he wiped his mouth with the back of his free hand before closing the water bottle.

“What did you say?” he asked with a slightly raspy voice.

Aidan turned and started walking away. “I thought you felt it too,” she mused.

Jacob grabbed her hand and pulled her to a stop. “Of course I felt it, I’m the one who imprinted, but how did you know about it?”

The feeling of his hand holding hers sent tingles up her arm. She looked up at him, her green-brown eyes looking into his warm brown. “Imprinting? I don’t know what that is, but I saw our threads of fate intertwine in a way that only happens with soul mates. That’s why I ran, well swam, away. Falling in love wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for my sanctuary here, but Aphrodite believes that it would be good for me,” she offered as she pulled her hand from his and stepped away.

He stared at her in complete shock and awe. A small smile pulled at his lips that softened his face and making her heart flutter at how handsome he looked with that goofy look on his face.

Before she could admit to herself that she was already falling for him, Aidan turned around and started walking away. “Don’t get your hopes up, buddy. I’m not ready for a relationship, I’ve only just started getting used to people again. I can’t risk losing control and attracting any vampires,” she grumbled as she pushed forward.

Jacob took a few large steps to catch up with her and easily fell in step with her. “Then I’ll let you take the lead on this relationship,” he decided. Before she could respond he smiled at her, a smile that made her heart skip a beat. “When a wolf imprints on someone, they become whatever she needs them to be,” he explained. “I will be whatever you need me to be, and if a lover isn’t what you need, then I don’t have to be that. I’ll be your friend,” he offered.

His words had her throat constricting with emotion. She turned her gaze away from him and walked in silence. It had been a decade since she had a friend. At least one that could talk with her - animals had frequently kept her company. 

They walked in silence until they started getting close to the end of the trail.

“Would you be opposed to the idea of me visiting you tonight?” Jacob asked, almost hesitant, as if afraid she would object.

For a moment she thought about saying yes, that she didn’t want him coming over. Aphrodite’s words rang in her head, reminding her that the Goddess of Love confirmed that he was her soulmate and that she should let herself be happy. While she wasn’t ready to fall in love, she figured taking little steps wouldn’t kill her.

“I suppose I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea,” she admitted as she retrieved her car keys from her backpack. “You can come by around six, I can cook us dinner,” she said before she thought about what that sounded like.

Jacob gave her a lopsided grin that had her stomach fluttering. “Not a romantic dinner,” she argued. “A dinner between friends, just a meal because we need to eat.”

“Uh-huh,” he replied, crossing his arms over his chest as they exited the forest and stood a few feet from her car.

Aidan groaned and walked over to her car. “Don’t make me regret agreeing to a friendship, Jacob,” she called to him as she opened her car door.

Jake grinned and winked at her. “Never, gorgeous. Oh, and fair warning, I eat  _ a lot _ ,” he warned.

With a warm face Aidan closed her car door and started the car. She turned her car around and started driving back to her house. Looking in the rear view mirror she saw that Jacob was still standing there watching her drive away. She turned her attention back to the road.

“What have I gotten myself into?” she whispered to herself as her shoulders slumped. 

When Aidan got home she went straight up to her bathroom, and took a steaming hot shower, washing the salt water out of her hair and off of her body. As soon as she was done she wrapped a towel around her body and went into her closet.

She changed into a knee length black circle skirt and a pale blue V-neck blouse. She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned at her reflection. “I feel like I’m trying too hard,” she mumbled to herself as she returned to her closet and looked for something that didn’t ooze sexy or at all hinted at romance.

The problem was that she had spent ten years on the run and always had to wear pants or shorts that she never really had a chance to wear skirts or dresses. And there was plenty of those in her wardrobe now thanks to Aphrodite.

After about twenty minutes she went with a white spaghetti strap slip style dress that stopped at about mid thigh and had a lace pattern around her waist. She pulled on black wool socks that pulled above her knees. Aidan looked at her reflection and sighed. It was as good as she was going to get while still feeling comfortable.

Before turning off the closet light and walking out, she looked back at the box in the back of her closet on the top shelf. Pain stabbed at her chest as her mother’s face flashed in her mind. She blinked back tears and turned the light off.

Now wasn’t the time to relive the past. She would get there, but she didn’t have the strength to start the healing process. She couldn’t go there yet.

With plenty of time until she had to start cooking, Aidan settled into her living room couch and turned on the television and game console that Aphrodite had begrudgingly agreed to get her. That was something she had missed from high school. She hadn’t spent a lot of times on video games, but she missed the meaningless fun.

Though, she didn’t plan on playing a game. She pulled up the Netflix app and started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was nostalgic and made her wish that the vampires chasing her were easy to kill and less of a hassle than those depicted in the television series.

\---

After about six episodes Aidan stopped watching and started playing music online, mostly music she remembered from her teenage years. She spent most of the next hour in the kitchen cooking.

The doorbell sounded through the house, barely audible over the music. She paused the music and waited for a moment before she heard the doorbell again and knew she wasn’t going crazy. She took the apron off and set it on the counter that separated the kitchen from the breakfast room that was separate from the living room only by the carpet.

Jacob stood on the other side of the door in a plain black t-shirt, jeans, and fairly nice tennis shoes. His short cropped hair looked like it was styled but it was done in a way that was still messy. His crooked grin made butterflies fill her stomach and her skin to start glowing softly.

“You’re glowing,” he observed with wonder in his eyes.

Aidan tensed slightly and reigned in her emotions. The glow subsided and she stepped aside, motioning into the house. “The food should be ready soon, I’m just waiting for it to finish in the oven,” she explained as he walked in. She shut the door before turning to Jake who was looking at the house in appreciation.

“This is a nice home, a lot nicer than the original,” he stated as he looked at the dining room from where he stood in the foyer.

“Would you like a tour? You’ll probably be the first person to see this place who knew the previous house.”

Jacob looked down at her and grinned, “I would love a tour.”

She nodded and motioned to the stairs a couple of feet away to their left. “We’ll start upstairs,” she said as she lead him up the stairs. They went straight up and turned in a kind of U-shape. The left of the stairs and a portion of the hall was open with a railing to show the living room. The railing on the stairs continued past the stairs for a few feet into the hallway so that the foyer seemed bigger. She opened the first door on the right and stepped away after turning the light on, “This is the study.” 

Jacob looked in and stared in shock at the three book cases full of books. “You’ve read all of those?” he asked gesturing to the shelves.

Aidan shook her head. “I didn’t really have time to read. Artemis and Athena took me to a bookstore and had me pick just about all of these. It should give me something to do now that I have time,” she admitted as she turned the light off and pointed to the little alcove a little farther down the hall on the right. “That goes to the guest bathroom and guest bedroom,” she pointed to the closed door at the end of the hall, “And that’s the laundry room.”

Jacob nodded to the only door on the left of the hallway. “Is this your room?” he asked curiously.

A sigh passed her lips as she pushed the door open and turned the light on, “It is.”

Jacob stepped into the room and the first thing he saw was the four poster canopy California-King size bed. The sheer light blue fabric was tied with gold ribbon at each post. One of his brows lifted as he looked down at her now blushing face. “That’s a large bed for such a tiny woman,” he was clearly trying not to smile.

“Tiny!” she exclaimed with a laugh. “I’m nearly six feet tall,” she informed him with her hands on her hips.

He put his hand on top of her head. “Cute, but you’re still tiny compared to me.”

Aidan scowled. “Not by much,” she grumbled.

Jake chuckled and walked towards the bathroom. He turned the light on and whistled. “Now this is a bathroom! A jacuzzi tub and a shower with,” he paused as he opened the shower door and counted the shower head. “Five shower heads. Why does a shower need five shower heads?” he asked as he closed the shower door and looked at Aidan who was leaning against the door frame of the bathroom.

She shrugged. “I didn’t really have much say in what went into the house. I just asked for the dance studio downstairs,” she admitted.

A faint beeping floated up to them and Aidan pushed off of the door frame. “That’s dinner. Turn off the lights when you leave,” she requested as she walked away.

Jacob looked at the items on the counter to the left of a partly closed door between two sinks. Everything was placed neatly in their places and there was no clutter on the counter. He was about to leave when a large thud sounded from behind the closed door.

He suddenly tensed up and waited, but heard nothing else. He sniffed the air but could only smell Aidan’s scent, it reminded him of a soft summer breeze that brought with it the smell of jasmine and cinnamon. There was no sickeningly sweet smell that burned his nose.

He relaxed and pushed the door open . He turned the light on and saw a box had fallen in the back. Picking it up he noticed the words “Aidan’s Pictures” in a delicate script on the top. The box had been opened but it looked like Aidan had taped it shut again before shoving it on the top shelf.

Jacob frowned as he put the box back on the shelf, curious as to why she would have all of her pictures hidden away and not hanging up. He figured something bad had happened in her past, but was it so bad that she didn’t want to be reminded of it?

He started to leave the closet and looked back at the box, knowing what he would do for Aidan, what he would be for her. There had been a time where he had mended the wounds of an old friend. He had been there for her when she felt broken and alone. He would be there for Aidan now.

“She’s not Bella,” he whispered as a long forgotten pain made his heart ache. The heartbreak had healed, he had eventually gotten over his first love, but he never thought he would have to be there for someone like he had been for Bella.

He shook his head with a small smile, turning the light off, as he remembered what Bella had called him before: her personal sun. Maybe, just maybe, he could be the same for Aidan and bring light back into her life.

\---

Dinner was a lot more pleasant and relaxing than Aidan had originally expected. Instead of asking a lot of questions about her life, Jake talked about himself. He told her about his life before the change, about the girl he’d fallen in love with and how she had chosen to be with a vampire.

Aidan had felt relieved and happy by this but had quickly pushed those feelings to the back of her mind.

She learned about the pack and that a lot of the members had chosen to stop phasing almost a year after the Cullen’s left. The ones who remained were mostly those who had changed before the fight with the newborn vampires when Bella had been changed, along with a couple of others. In total there were still seven wolves in the pack.

Jake volunteered information about his life currently; he had finished a degree in business and mechanics and opened his own repair shop; he continues to be the alpha of the pack, enjoying being a wolf too much to give it up; he spoiled his 5 year old niece much to his sister Rachel and brother-in-law Paul’s slight disapproval; he still lived with his father mostly so that he could help him out when he needed it, though he had a small apartment above his shop.

Aidan joked about bringing women home and he had simply shrugged and told her that he’d had flings in the past, but nothing had ever gotten serious and now there was no need for that. It wasn’t an obvious mention of the fact that they were soul mates, but it still killed the conversation a little.

After cleaning up the dishes together, Aidan finally decided to talk about herself.

“I grew up in Colorado,” she started, pouring herself another glass of red wine and offering to fill his glass in which he accepted. “My mother and I had a nice two story house in a small town just north of Denver. It was the only home I had ever known and had just been the two of us,” she explained as she went to the living room and sat on the couch, carefully sitting with her legs curled underneath her and her back against the armrest. 

Jacob followed and sat on the other end of the couch, one leg folded on the couch to help him sit more comfortably. “What about the rest of your family?” he inquired.

She took a sip of wine before shaking her head. “All killed by vampires or by natural causes,” she answered. “I wasn’t too bothered by it, I didn’t know any of them, and I was happy with my mom. Despite being the daughter of a Greek God I lived a fairly normal life. We got attacked a few times while I was growing up, especially once I hit puberty, but I eventually came to control my powers and mostly hide myself from vampires,” she explained as she took another drink of wine.

He wanted to know more, but he could see how tense she was starting to get and how her brows were starting to pull together, a sign she was starting to shut down. He decided to change the subject to something away from her powers and family.

“Aside from dancing, what else did you used to do for fun?” he asked, drinking the wine in his glass.

The change in topics made her visibly relax and she smiled slightly as she nodded to the game console on the fireplace mantel underneath the wall mounted television. “I used to play video games. I can’t say I was any good, but I could hold my own in Halo,” she hid a slight grin by taking another sip of her wine.

Surprise filled Jacob’s face. “You play video games?”

“I used to, I haven’t really played anything in a decade. Though, I made sure my aunt’s bought the console and some games so that I could see how rusty I am,” she admitted. “I don’t really have a game plan for my life at the moment. I’ve been so focused on staying alive that I never stopped to think about what I would do if I wasn’t running. So, until I figure that out I just plan on dancing, reading, playing video games, and catching up on all the good shows I missed out on.”

Jacob chuckled and shook his head. “Most people would be envious of that life. So what are you going to do for work?” he asked.

This is where she got a little shy and didn’t look at him. “Actually, I wasn’t really planning on getting a job for a while. I’m still not used to being...safe,” she confessed softly.

“How are you going to pay for all of your bills?” he frowned slightly, worried about her wellbeing.

She curled a little deeper into the couch. “I have a lot of money,” she whispered. “All of the family fortune fell to me when my mother died.”

He blinked a few times. “Enough money to pay your bills for a few months?”

Aidan glanced up at him at bit her bottom lip, a look that had Jacob wanting to close the space between them. “More like for the rest of my life,” she admitted sheepishly. She didn’t really like talking about her family inheritance. She had never lived a rich life, her mother had made her do chores for allowance until she got a part time job teaching at a dance studio. Even then the allowance wasn’t outrageous.

It took him a moment to register what she said and what it meant. His eyes widened slightly when he realized what she meant. “You’re rich,” it was more of a statement than a question, but Aidan nodded nonetheless.

“Honestly, if I didn’t have the family inheritance, the Olympians might have intervened and made sure I lived a comfortable life. They can’t personally keep me safe from vampires, but they can do just about anything else from buying everything in this house and, apparently, finding my soul mate,” she told him as she took a large gulp of wine.

“They know about us?” he was curious and shocked at this bit of information.

Aidan giggled. “Of course they know! Artemis helped along the creation of shape shifters and Aphrodite is the Goddess of Love, she’s the leading experts on love and soul mates.”

She told him exactly what Aphrodite had told her about how the Goddess originally couldn’t find him because he is a shifter and that Artemis had to help her. That lead into Jacob telling her about imprinting and the members of the pack who had imprinted.

After their glasses of wine were finished a yawn escaped Aidan and Jacob decided it was time for him to leave.

For a moment she almost asked him to stay, she hadn’t felt so comfortable and worry free in so long that she was scared that it wouldn’t last with him gone. That made her even more scared that she was becoming dependent on the security he gave. She walked him to the door instead of asking him to stay.

Jacob turned to Aidan at the door, standing in the doorway and looking down at her. “Aidan,” he started, looking into her beautiful two toned eyes.

With only a couple of feet between them, they could both feel the heat radiating off of the other. That, with the intense look in his eyes made Aidan almost super charged with a sudden excitement.

He started to lean in and she felt her heartbeat quicken and her stomach flutter, but she didn’t move away. She was scared and thrilled at what might happen next.

Though, his lips touched her forehead. Relief and disappointment filled her, but she pushed those feeling away as he straightened up again.

“I enjoyed tonight, thank you for having me over,” he said with a smile. “If you need me for anything, I start patrolling at dawn. Otherwise, I would like to come back tomorrow,” he looked at her with expectant eyes.

Aidan opened her mouth to respond positively when something nagged at her memory. There had been something she had been dreading all week and she had suddenly forgot the dread with Jacob around.

Suddenly, it came back to her like a punch to the gut.

She gave him a forced apologetic smile. “Actually, I’m a little busy tomorrow, but if I need you, I know where to find you,” she said with a strained, shaky voice.

He noticed the change in her instantly and it hurt him to see that she was hiding something from him, especially since it obviously hurt her. But he wanted to let her come to him, he wanted her to willingly tell him everything.

“Ok. Well, sleep tight,” he said reluctantly, hesitating before walking to his car. 

Aidan shut and locked the door behind him, choking back sobs as she leaned against the door, it being the only thing keeping her upright.

Tomorrow was the tenth anniversary of her mother’s death and she had almost forgotten about it.


	3. Memories and Pain

Aidan had managed to pull herself away from the door and move through the house, turning off all of the lights. She stumbled up the stairs, her heart aching and tears fighting to spill from her eyes.

She had almost forgotten that her mother had died for her ten years ago.

That thought brought her to her knees at the top of the stairs and she covered her face with her hands as tears began to fall down her face.

Ten years had passed since Amelia had sacrificed her life for her daughter; ten years had passed since Aidan’s life changed forever.

Aidan pushed the tears back, struggling to stand as she continued to make her way down the dark hallway and into her bedroom. The room felt chilly for a split second when she first entered, but as she made her way to her massive bed, the room started to feel warmer.

She fell onto the bed, not bothering with removing her clothes. Sobs wracked her body as she curled up in the middle of the bed. She cried for her first love, for the life she lost, and she cried mostly for the loss of her mother.

Eventually sleep took hold of her, wrapping her in the darkness and dragging her into the past.

_ The night had been perfect, simple, but perfect. Her and Nick had spent the evening celebrating her birthday early since she would be leaving for California for the summer with her mother in a couple of days. They had a nice picnic under the stars in the bed of his truck and talked for hours before they decided it was time to leave. _

_ This was the night. After dating for a year and a half, Aidan felt that she had enough control over her emotions that she could be with him completely. When Nick took her home instead of letting him leave, Aidan asked him if he wanted to stay the night. _

_ Her mother was home, but she would be asleep by now, and it was a big house, their rooms on opposite ends. She wouldn’t hear a thing. _

_ Aidan had complete control of her emotions, made sure not to get too consumed with the love and lust she was feeling as he lay on top of her on her bed. _

_ Clothes flew through the air as they stripped each other. Aidan felt the excitement and momentary fear as she looked at him. She looked up at him and nodded, a smile on her lips. _

_ He went slow and was gentle as he sank within her. Aidan closed her eyes tightly and concentrated on her breathing, and soon the pain subsided. As he began moving within her, Aidan felt her control slipping, though she fought to keep the control. _

_ “Relax,” he breathed into her ear as he started to move faster. _

_ Aidan moaned and shuddered beneath him. The longer they made love the less she could control her emotions. She started to glow, first dully, but then she looked golden in hue as she arched her back and felt her entire body explode in pleasure. _

_ Her boyfriend stopped everything, looking down at her with a mixture of fear and wonder as she glowed a wonderful golden color. _

_ That was when the bedroom window shattered as a gorgeous pale creature crashed in. Chaos erupted as Aidan screamed, her boyfriend ripped from her body. She sat up in the bed, pulling sheets to cover her as she watched with wide eyes as her first love was killed in front of her, the vampire ripping his throat open and drinking his blood. _

_ Aidan had tried to run away, bolting for her bedroom door as she clutched the sheet to her body, screaming for her mother. _

_ It didn’t do any good, he was too fast. He grabbed her shoulder, digging his nails into the skin above her right collar bone. _

_ The door was thrown open and Aidan’s mother quickly pulled her daughter, throwing her into the hallway, a shiny blade in her other hand. _

_ The vampire hissed as his prey was ripped from his grasp. He looked at the blade in the woman’s hand and grinned darkly. “You can’t kill me with that,” he chuckled as he took a step towards her. _

_ “No, but I won’t let you have my daughter,” she said as she plunged the knife into her gut just below her ribcage. _

_ The sudden sweet, exotic smell of Olympian blood consumed the vampire and he latched onto the now dying woman. It was faint, she barely had any Olympian blood in her, but he could smell it and he wanted it. _

_ Aidan watched in horror as her mother sacrificed herself, the blood spilling out of her. _

_ “Be safe, my little flame,” her mother whispered as the vampire took hold of her. _

_ Tears welled up in her eyes as her already glowing body began to tremble, the light growing even brighter. “No,” she whispered, her voice shaking as she watched her mother die. The pain she felt exploded in her body and Aidan let out a blood curling scream, the light exploding from her and consuming everything around her. _

_ The vampire screamed in agony as he was consumed by the fire of the daughter of the Sun God. _

_ The house burned down around Aidan as she held herself, crying. _

_ Before the authorities arrived, a golden man retrieved the crying teenager from the flames and took her to safety. But the damage had been done, Aidan had watched her first love and her mother die because she had lost control of her emotions. _

Aidan tossed and turned in her bed, her body temperature rising as she experienced the raw emotions of watching the ones she loved die because of her. The tears slipped out of her eyes as she cried out, whimpering as she continued to relive the traumatic event ten years ago.

Despite the nightmare, she continued to sleep past sunrise when she would usually be up and getting ready to dance.

A golden man appeared in the dark room, his glow shining light across the room. The glow dimmed as he approached the bed with the weeping woman still locked in nightmares. His vibrant green and cognac eyes were filled with sadness as he lowered his body onto the bed and pulled her into his arms.

He smoothed her tousled light brown hair, the same shade and wave as his. “Shh, I’m here now,” he whispered in a deep, velvety, and calming voice. 

Aidan flinched as more tears fell from her eyes. “Mother, I’m so sorry,” she whimpered but slowly began to relax in the man’s arms.

The man sat against the headboard, holding her in his arms. He began to hum softly, a deep sadness in his eyes.

After about an hour of Aidan sleeping fairly peacefully in his arms, she started to stir.

“Dad,” she whispered, her voice raspy from crying as she gripped the button down shirt he was wearing, her eyes still closed.

Apollo smiled slightly as he brushed hair out of her face. “Good morning, little flame,” he rubbed her shoulder soothingly as she slowly opened her eyes. She first looked at the window across from her, the blue drapes parted slightly so that she could see that it was drizzling.

Her eyes, swollen and a little red from the night of crying, looked up at her father who was smiling softly. “What are you doing here?” she asked, clearing her throat.

“I wasn’t going to leave you alone,” he answered as a fond look replaced the sadness. “Besides, I have a message for you.”   
  


Aidan’s brows knitted together in confusion. “A message from whom?”

“Your mother,” he whispered.

It felt like a hand was crushing her heart. “What?” her voice was barely above a whisper as she sat up, pulling away from the warmth of her father.

His eyes softened and his voice was soothing, “Hades let me see her last night, she wanted me to pass a message along to you.”

Tears filled her eyes, as she felt love, longing, and pain course through her entire body. “What did she say?” her voice quivered as she sat next to him, suddenly feeling like such a child. Her mother’s soul was still in the Underworld, she hadn’t been reborn.

Apollo caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers. “She wanted to tell you how much she loves you, and that she is happy that you’re still alive, but she’s saddened that you haven’t been able to live your life,” Aidan opened her mouth to protest but he shook his head. “She knows why you’re running, Hades has been giving her updates over the years. She doesn’t want you to keep running, not from your life, and certainly not from the pain of her death. Your mother wants you to grow from it, wants you to move forward and be happy.”

Her eyes lowered as she frowned slightly. “Why does everyone keep saying that? How can I be happy when that happiness only brings death?” her lip quivered as the tears slipped down her cheeks.

“Artemis told you about shape shifters, you know that they, especially these wolves, were built to kill vampires,” he argued lightly. “Even if vampires came here and tried to kill you, they wouldn’t succeed. Not when your soul mate is one of them,” he said with a grin.

Aidan’s eyes snapped up to him in shock. “How did you….” she started but then realized that she was a topic of discussion amongst a few of the Olympians. She sighed, “Aphrodite.”

He nodded and stood out of the bed. “Now, Hades has agreed to let you mother see you for a little while. She won’t be here, but watching you from the Underworld, and she’s requested to see you dance again. You know how much she loved to watch you dance,” he said with a smile, reaching a hand out to help her out of the bed.

Pain and sadness filled her, but it was slowly starting to lessen. Maybe it was because of her mother’s words, or maybe it was someone who warmed her heart in a way that she had never thought possible. She took her father’s hand with a small smile and a nod. “I can do that,” she said softly as she got off of the bed and retreated to her closet to change.

\---

Apollo followed Aidan into the personal dance studio where she started stretching before putting her pointe shoes on. She was wearing light pink ballet tights with a white leotard and a burgundy wraparound skirt. Her hair was pulled into a high bun, giving her a very professional and sleek look.

As music started playing from the speakers, Aidan moved through the basics of ballet, plies, tondus, grand battements, and a few others that helped her body warm up. After the third song she moved away from the barre along the mirrored wall that ran the length of the kitchen and past the back patio.

“Did she tell you what she wanted to see?” she asked her father who was pushing away from the barre close to the door and started walking towards her.

“She didn’t, but I thought a pas de deux would be perfect.” At her questioning look he gave her a soft look. “The father-daughter dance she never got to see in life,” he explained softly.

The pain returned and she almost lost her straight posture. If she ever got married, she wouldn’t have her mother there to help her through the wedding or through children. She nodded numbly, starting to walk towards where she placed her iPod.

Apollo stopped her, “Leave the music to me.” His body flashed gold for a moment and his black slacks and shoes were replaced with black tights and black ballet shoes. Music started to play from all around them.

It took Aidan a moment to recognize the music as that from the pas de deux in Sleeping Beauty where Princess Aurora dances with her Prince. It was her mother’s favorite ballet that Aidan had performed in. 

“I didn’t take you for a ballet dancer,” she joked lightly as they started the dance.

They joined hands and she went on pointe, pausing before the develope. “I’m not, but it’s not like I don’t know how. I have been around for a long time, after all. And I’m not doing the male solo, your mother isn’t watching for me, she’s watching for you,” he said as Aidan turned, her extended leg still in the air, and he moved to hold her waist.

The reminder that her mother was watching filled her eyes with tears. She closed them for a moment, pushing the tears away. Pain and sadness wasn’t what she wanted her mother to see, she wanted to let her mother see her with a smile and with happiness in her heart.

As she opened her eyes and continued to dance, she utilized her stage face and smiled brightly, despite the pain.

A chuckle escaped Apollo when he was kneeling, his hands on Aidan’s waist as she leaned down, her face close to his.

“What?” she asked as they separated and started to slowly step backwards from each other.

“We’ve attracted an audience, and they don’t seem to be as happy to see us together,” his voice was filled with amusement as he nodded to the glass wall facing the woods behind the house. “It seems your wolf has the wrong idea about me.”

Aidan glanced back to see a russet colored wolf sitting at the edge of trees, a seething look in his large brown eyes, and she could see his lips twitching in what she only assumed was a growl. Though, as soon as their eyes met, he flinched and the anger in his eyes turned into confusion and pain. 

“Aidan,” Apollo whispered and she snapped back to her father and the dance.

Jacob would have to wait, she wanted to dance for her mother, she would just have to explain to Jacob later.

The longer she danced the more she felt the pain began to subside. 

Yes, fate had been cruel and forced Amelia to sacrifice herself in order to save Aidan, leaving the teenager all alone in the world to escape the vampires. Fortunately, fate had also lead her to two vampires who sympathized with her and gave her a place where she would be protected. That brought her to meet her soul mate, a man who would be her protector and be whatever she needed.

While she still was reluctant to jump head on into a relationship with Jacob, she realized that she couldn’t deny him.

Apollo stepped away, going to the end of the room by the door as Aidan started her solo dance.

Tears filled her eyes, a warm smile on her lips. “I miss you, mother,” she whispered as danced. The tears fell as she stepped backwards. “I wouldn’t be here today without you, but I wish you were here.” She fought the urge to start crying uncontrollably as she continued to dance. The tears that blurred her vision didn’t hinder her, the dance was ingrained in her mind and body.

The tears flowed down her face, but they weren’t just sad tears, they were also tears of relief and joy. Her mother was in the Underworld, within the Elysian Fields, and she was urging Aidan to be happy. Aidan had found her soul mate and he was willing to be whatever she needed him to be, he wasn’t pressuring her for anything.

She was safe.

Apollo watched his daughter, struck by how beautiful she was even whilst crying. So much of her reminded him of her mother, even with the features she got from him. If Zeus had ever allowed it, Apollo would have brought her to Olympus and ensured she became a Goddess, forever to be among family and away from the vampires that wished to take her life.

His green and cognac colored eyes moved to the wolf still sitting at the tree line, mostly sheltered from the light rain falling. The wolf took his eyes from Aidan to look at the Sun God, his lips twitching in a snarl that almost made Apollo chuckle.

Even if Zeus allowed Aidan to join their ranks in Olympus, she would never leave now. She might not be willing to be with the wolf intimately at the moment, Apollo knew that she would eventually. He wouldn’t deny that happiness to her daughter.

Aidan stopped dancing and retreated to the barre along the mirrored wall where she wiped the tears from her face. Apollo stepped out and waited a moment before starting to dance. Aidan began dancing again, moving towards him during his turn.

She felt a little lighter, though the sadness wasn’t gone. That would still take time, but the healing process had finally begun.

The freedom in her heart showed as she danced with her father, her movements a little more relaxed while still keeping to the strict terms of ballet. When the dance ended her chest was heaving slightly with the exertion of the dance and raw emotions.

_ I love you, my little flame _ .

The voice was soft and full of emotion as it passed through the room like a breeze. The sound of her mother’s voice brought the tears back as she sank to the ground. The sorrow returned as the sobs wracked her body. Apollo knelt next to her and kissed the top of her head, motioning to the wolf outside to come in.

“I will always be here for you when you need me, Aidan, but I think it’s time for you to heal. I love you, don’t forget that,” he said as he stood. He disappeared from the dance studio in a golden flash.

Moments later Jacob was walking into the dance studio, wet from the rain and wearing a pair of dark cut off sweats. He rushed over to Aidan and sat on the ground, pulling her onto his lap and wrapping her in his arms.

Aidan cried harder as she buried her face into Jacob’s large chest. Her body temperature rose to a point that even Jacob noticed her warmth, but he said nothing as he held her close.

Fifteen minutes passed before her tears began to subside. She continued to hold him, her fingers digging into his back. 

  
“I’m sorry,” she whispered between hiccups.

Jacob shook his head and pressed his forehead to the top of her head. “You have nothing to be sorry about,” he hesitated. “Except for dancing with another man,” he mumbled, the jealousy obvious in his voice.

The fact that Jacob was jealous of Apollo made her laugh softly against his chest. “Jacob, he’s not another man,” she pulled away enough to look up at the shapeshifter. “That was my father,” she explained, watching as the jealousy slowly left his eyes.

He stared down at her with wide eyes. “Apollo, that was Apollo?”

Aidan pulled her arms away from the massive man as she wiped the tears from her face. “Yes,” she answered simply as she suddenly felt drained, resting her head against Jacob’s chest again. “He was here to give me a message from my mother, and to dance with me for her,” she closed her eyes as she felt his warmth surrounding her and seeping into her.

“Your mother,” he breathed, confused. He wanted to ask for an explanation, wanted to know why her mother couldn’t be there herself and why Aidan has crying her eyes out. He had a feeling he knew the answers to those questions, but having a feeling wasn’t actually knowing.

Aidan slowly pulled herself from Jacob’s arms and slid out of his lap. “Yes,” she hesitated before unlacing her pointe shoes, “She died ten years ago today saving my life.”

He sat frozen, staring her with eyes filled with sorrow for her. “Aidan, I’m sorry,” he whispered as she pulled the pointe shoes off of her feet and massaged her toes.

She didn’t say anything, she didn’t know what to say. All she could do was try to not start crying again because surprisingly she felt her eyes stinging with tears. Aidan rubbed at her eyes and tried to move the topic away from her pain.

“Gods, I must look horrendous,” she joked lightly, trying to laugh. The sound was strained as she still felt like crying. She was so sick of crying now.

Jacob reached up and took her arm from her face, lifting her chin so that her eyes met his. Her eyes were red and swollen from her crying, her nose also turning red from the crying and rubbing, but he looked at her with an adoration that made Aidan’s heart swell.

“You could never look horrendous, Aidan,” he told her softly, a small smile on his lips. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her hot, damp forehead. “Though, I definitely prefer you not crying.”

Aidan’s cheeks warmed as she looked away. “No promises today,” she mumbled as she crossed her legs, pressing her hands into her ankles. She started chewing on her bottom lip as she finally decided she would open up to him. “Actually, Jake, would you be able to help me with something?”

Her question made him smile. “Of course,” he responded as his hand lowered to the ground.

“There’s a box in my closet, full of pictures of my mom and of me growing up. I think…” she hesitated, closing her eyes to try and keep the pain from controlling her. “I haven’t been able to look through them since I moved in, I’ve been too scared, but… I think… I think I can do it with you around,” she mumbled, barely looking at him.

He nodded with a warm smile, feeling as if he might burst with happiness. She wanted to have him around to help her through a rough time. She was asking him to help her with the emotional turmoil within her. “It would be my honor to help you,” he responded warmly.

“Thank you. I’m going to go take a shower and I’ll meet you in the living room,” she said as she stood up. Jacob stood as well and followed her out of the dance studio, Aidan turning the lights off as they left. “You can help yourself to anything in the kitchen, I’ll be back,” she hurried upstairs where she locked herself in the bathroom.

After stripping and jumping into a cold shower, Aidan stood in the stream of water and thought about the past few hours. Her mother had told her to be happy; her Olympian family was doing everything they could to make her happy; Jacob had come into her life and only wanted her to be happy.

Could she really be happy now?

Aidan lifted her face into the cold water, not that the temperature bothered her too much. She was still scared of herself, of losing control and attracting vampires, or worse - hurting Jacob. 

The thought of Jacob getting hurt because of her made her heart hurt, made her entire body scream in pain just at the thought. 

_ “You just have to take things slow, get to know him, get used to him,” _ Aphrodite’s words echoed in Aidan’s head. She lowered her head and opened her eyes to stare at the water draining. 

Take things slow and get used to him, was that really the solution to her problems?

Aidan shut the water off and stepped out of the shower, wrapping herself in a towel but allowing her naturally high body temperature to dry off. She went into her closet and started to get dressed.

There was just more than her being scared of herself, there was all of the pain from watching her first lover die, from watching her mother die, and running from vampires for ten years. There were so many wounds that needed to heal.

How would allowing herself to be with Jacob heal all of that?

Jacob’s smiling face filled her mind and she found herself smiling slightly, a warmth filling her heart. He was such a bright man and made her feel so warm and comfortable, just like how being in the sun made her feel.

A giggle escaped her at the comparison. “My own personal sun,” she mused as she pulled on a deep blue long sleeved scoop neck sweater dress over warm black tights. She braided her hair and let it fall over her right shoulder, covering up one of the nail mark scars above her collarbone that was exposed.

She retrieved the box from the shelf, the sorrow slowly starting to rear its ugly head despite the warmth that filled her from thinking about Jacob.

Jacob was sitting on the couch, a large mug in his hands with steam coming off the contents, another mug was on the coffee table in front of him. Aidan set the box down on the coffee table before sitting on the opposite end of the couch and picking up the mug.

“Thank you,” she whispered as she took a sniff. The warm aroma of her hazelnut flavored coffee filled her nostrils. She took a sip and sank into the couch, allowing the warmth from the coffee and the heat radiating off of Jake to warm her thoroughly.

Jake watched her as she took a few sips of the coffee before setting the mug back on the table. He didn’t like the distance between them, but he didn’t want to over crowd her, not when he had pretty much forced his comfort on her early. Though, she had seemed to welcome that comfort and him.

“So, what’s all in the box?” he inquired, looking at the box.

Aidan pulled the box closer and slowly opened it. “All of the pictures my mom had before she died,” she answered as she pulled the first album out again. She moved closer to Jacob until she was touching him. If her first experience looking at this album was any indication, she knew she would probably crumble without his comfort.

Jake set his mug of coffee down on the table and put his arm behind Aidan on the back of the couch, allowing her to sit next to him more easily. He watched as she slowly opened the book, her hands trembling slightly. “I’m here, you’re okay,” he whispered softly as he rested his head on top of hers.

She relaxed into him as she turned to the page of her birth. They flipped through the book, looking at each picture.

Aidan cried softly as she relived each picture, telling Jacob everything she could remember about them all. He sat there quietly, letting her take her time as she reminisced and cried softly.

When they got to the last book, Aidan stopped. The book was labeled “2006” on a black cover in silver writing. It was smaller than the other albums.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned.

She let the photo album sit on her lap as she looked up at him. “This is the last one,” she admitted quietly, her voice trembling.

Jacob moved his arm off of the back of the couch to put around her, pulling her close. “We don’t have to look at it if you don’t want to. You’ve been through a lot today, we can take a break,” he suggested.

She closed her eyes as she sank into his warmth. He was right, they could take a break, she didn’t have to look through all of them in one day. Actually, she was surprised she had gotten through all of the others. It was because he was there with her; his presence was a soothing comfort that pushed the pain and sorrow away. 

Aidan made a noise of agreement as she cuddled into his side, her exhaustion from crying most of the morning catching up with her. “Would it be okay if I just took a quick nap?” she mumbled almost incoherently, already falling asleep.

His chest rumbled with a chuckle as he took the photo album from her lap and set it on the coffee table. “Go ahead, sweetheart, you deserve it,” he responded as he turned them so that he could bring his legs up on the couch and was propped up against the armrest. He moved her body so that she was laying on top of him.

The sound of the rain outside and Jake’s heartbeat was like a soothing lullaby as Aidan slipped into sleep, his arms encircling her feeling like a cozy blanket.

Aidan was pulled from her nap by Jacob’s voice, soft but urgent.

“Aidan, sweetheart, I need you to wake up,” his voice pushed through her sleep riddled brain.

Something was wrong, she could hear it in his voice. Her eyes snapped open and she looked up at him. Jake was sitting up, her in his lap, but his brows were knitted together in concern.

  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to wake you, but they need me,” he moved her off of his lap and started to stand up.

“Wha…?” her question was cut off by a wolf howl outside. It was loud, close. She jumped and looked out the sliding glass doors to the patio and saw that it was much darker outside, but the rain seemed to have stopped.

“Go,” she whispered with a nod.

Jacob started to turn but hesitated. He turned back to her and leaned down to place a kiss on the top of her head. “I’ll come back, I promise,” he whispered into her hair before leaving through the back door.

Aidan got up and followed him, standing in the open door as she watched him run into the woods. The cold air was a shock against her hot skin and she actually shivered for a moment before she got used to the absence of Jake’s heat with hers.

Aside from the cold air and the dark sky, Aidan felt something else, an eerie aura that filled the forest in front of her and loomed over her house. A chill ran through her at the familiar feeling that was seeping into her bones.

A vampire was close.


	4. Fear and Admittance

Aidan stepped out onto the patio as dread filled her and the cold air tried to penetrate the heat filling her body. “No,” she whispered, her mind going straight to Jacob and the other wolves who were out there hunting the vampire.

A growl to her left stopped Aidan in her tracks. She looked over and saw a sleek grey wolf with black spots sitting next to her patio. The wolf was watching the woods, his lips curled up in a low snarl. She watched the wolf and felt a little safer, but not any less worried. The wolf glanced at her out of the corner of its eye and nodded slightly before looking back at the forest.

She stood, crossing her arms over her chest, watching the forest and waiting to see what happened next. 

Fifteen minutes passed and suddenly the wolf jumped to attention, growling loudly and stalking towards the forest. Aidan tensed up and stared intently, her heart racing and her mind whirring as she wondered what was going on.

The wolf ran into the forest and disappeared. Aidan went to the railing of the patio and gripped it tightly, biting her bottom lip in worry as she listened with all her might to hear any clues as to what was going on.

Suddenly a blur exited the trees at an angle, making a sharp turn and heading straight for her.

Fear gripped her heart as the creature closed the space between them. Four wolves burst through the tree line, one of them the russet wolf that was Jacob and another the grey and black wolf that had just been with her.

Aidan took a few steps back from the railing just as the creature leapt up and crouched on it. It was a gorgeous man with a large build, his blood red eyes leered at her with a hunger that was familiar and different all at the same time. He had blue black hair that was to the top of his ears and tousled in a chaotic yet purposeful way. His skin was almost kind of an ashen tone, making Aidan think that he had darker skin as a human.

He sniffed the air between them and made an appreciative sound, a grin pulling at his lips to expose perfect white teeth. “I found you, little flame,” his voice was deep and musical, but it rang with a familiar tone that usually accompanied the Olympian’s voices.

Aidan was frozen to her spot as her eyes widened in fear.

The vampire chuckled and started to reach for her. “I’ll be back to claim you as my own,” he promised before bolting to the right just as the russet colored wolf was lunging in the air towards him, quickly changing back into human form when he didn’t catch his prey so that he wouldn’t barrel into Aidan.

Jacob cursed as he landed in a crouch on the patio, buck naked. Aidan stared at the spot where the vampire had been, staring right through Jake as he stood up. Her body was trembling, not from the cold but from fear.

The three remaining wolves altered course and followed the vampire who had already disappeared into the woods. Jake turned to his imprint and his anger dissolved into concern as he saw the fear and shock twisting her features, her entire body shaking.

He closed the space between them in a single step and pulled her into his arms. “Shh, it’s okay, I’m here,” he assured her as she continued to tremble against him.

“He’s,” she started, her voice muffled against Jake’s bare chest. He pulled her away from his chest slightly and she looked up at him. “He was a demi-God before he was a vampire,” her voice was strained and weak, she couldn’t believe it but she knew it was true.

His voice had resonated within her, shook her to her very core.

Surprise flashed on Jake’s face, “What?” He had heard her, but he couldn’t believe it. “I assumed demi-Gods died after they were fed on.”

Aidan turned her eyes to the sky, as if searching for an answer. “I thought so too, but I know what I heard. I know what a  _ felt _ ,” she shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself, Jake’s hands tightening slightly on her shoulders. “He’s coming back, he said he’s coming back, Jake,” her trembling got worse as she realized what this meant.

She wasn’t safe.

Jake pulled her against him once more and held her head softly against his chest. “I won’t let him touch you, Aidan. The pack won’t let him touch you, I swear it,” he vowed as anger filled his entire being.

His imprint was being hunted by his sworn enemy. What made matters worse, this vampire used to be a demi-God, one of Aidan’s own distant relatives.

Aidan had started to relax, the trembling ceasing, but she tensed up suddenly and pulled away to look up at him. “He knows me,” she whispered.

Jake frowned, “How do you know that?”

“He called me little flame, only my mother and the Olympians have ever called me that. He knows who I am,” the fear grew in her eyes and she gripped Jacob’s arms. “Jake, he’s dangerous. If he knows who I am there’s no telling what he can do. Please, don’t let anyone get hurt because of me,” she pleaded, her eyes wide and filling with tears. “I don’t want anyone else to die protecting me.”

His heart broke seeing her like this, so broken and afraid. He leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers, looking her in the eye. “Sweetheart, I live to protect you. It’s my job to make sure you’re happy and safe. It’s the pack’s duty to hunt vampires and protect humans. You may be part Olympian, but you’re still human and you’re my imprint, they will risk their lives to protect you because you’re a part of this pack whether you like it or not,” he explained softly, though his voice was stern and rang with authority.

Aidan shuddered at the tone in his voice, at the intense look in his eyes. Something started to change in her as she looked into his eyes, she started to feel a warmth in her heart that she hadn’t felt in a very long time.

Love.

There was no denying that she loved Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, and Athena, they had all done everything they could for her, but that was something else, and it never reached the love she felt for her mother.

No, this was something else. It was something more than the love she had felt for even her mother.

This was the love that someone felt for their other half, for their soul mate.

She nodded slowly, completely taken away by this man holding her. “I still don’t want you to get hurt,” she whispered.

Jake pulled his head back and gave her the lopsided grin that she was starting to realize was his trademark. “I’ll do what I can, but I make no promises. It’s a dangerous job,” he responded lightly.

Before she could respond, a pair of damp sweats hit him in the back of the head. “Put some clothes on, Romeo,” a female voice called from past the patio.

Aidan’s face burned and she started glowing as she realized for the first time that Jake was, indeed, naked. She stepped away from him quickly and looked up at the sky. Jake chuckled and pulled the sweats from his head and pulled them on.

“Did you catch the leech?” Jake asked, turning to look at the woman standing with her hands crossed over her chest.

Aidan’s Olympian glow diminished at the mention of the vampire, the entire reason they were outside in the cold.

She started walking around the patio and walked up the steps to join them. Aidan looked at her, dressed in a tank top and loose shorts, and was stunned by her beauty. It was a rugged kind of beauty, but she was beautiful nonetheless.

  
“No, he was too fast for us. Embry and Colin are still out there, they’re keeping a wide patrol in case he comes back,” she informed Jake before turning her attention to Aidan. “Leah,” she offered her hand.

Aidan took the woman’s hand and looked down at Leah’s barefeet and was slightly shocked at how hot her hand was. “You’re a wolf?” she asked, slightly surprised. She knew there were female shape shifters, but the occurrence was mostly rare no matter the species of shifter.

Leah nodded with a small grin. “Yeah, much to their displeasure. Though, I think they’ve finally gotten used to it after ten years.”

Jake groaned and shook his head. “No, no we haven’t. Do you know how awkward it still is to see some of your thoughts about the men you sleep with?” he shuddered and Aidan giggled, Leah grinning mischievously.

“Oh, trust me, I know,” she said in a tone that meant she clearly showed them on purpose.

Jake groaned again and turned to Aidan. “You should get inside and get warm,” he suggested.

Aidan and Leah both looked at him with arched brows.

“She’s the daughter of the Sun God, I’m sure she’s not cold out here. She’s burning hotter than we do!” Leah exclaimed with a roll of her eyes.

Aidan grinned, “I like her. I think I want to keep her around.”

Leah laughed and punched Jake in the shoulder. “You hear that, alpha? Your imprint wants to keep me around! Looks like you’ll be seeing me a whole lot more.”

“Like I don’t see enough of you,” he grumbled as he took Aidan by the shoulders and turned her around.

“Hey!” she started to object as he started walking her into the house. 

“I’m going back out there to check on things, I want you inside,” he explained as stepped over the threshold into her house.

For a moment fear gripped her heart at the thought of being alone. She looked back at him and knew he could see the fear, feel her shoulders tense up slightly beneath his hands, as his eyes softened. “I can come right back, but Leah will be here for the time being,” he said softly.

Aidan nodded after a moment and watched him walk away, putting his hand on Leah’s shoulder and saying something that she couldn’t hear before he jumped off the patio and ran off into the woods.

Leah followed Aidan into the house and closed the door behind her. “So, I saw that you have a fantastic wardrobe,” she smiled, clearly excited to have a girl to talk to.

Aidan’s tension pretty much evaporated as she nodded with a bit of a sheepish look, not even surprised that Leah knew something like that when they’d never met. Jake had told her all about how they saw each other’s thoughts and when they were wolves.

“Aphrodite always gets carried away,” she said as she lead the way upstairs to her bedroom. She looked at Leah, giving her a once over, “Actually, we might be along the same size, you’re more than welcome to wear any of it.”

Leah’s eyes sparkled at the offer. “That would be amazing. Though, I don’t know when I would really be able to wear anything nice with vampires coming back to the area,” she sighed in disappointment.

“Well, help yourself to my closet whenever you want,” Aidan opened her bedroom door and turned the light on.

Leah let out a low whistle when she saw the bed. “Are you sure you didn’t know about Jacob when you move here? That bed can certainly fit him comfortably.”

A blush colored Aidan’s cheeks and she started glowing softly. “Aphrodite bought that, too, but I think she knew about Jake and I before I moved here,” she admitted as she continued into the bathroom and then into the closet, turning on the lights to both rooms.

“You do that a lot,” Leah pointed out as she looked at the bathroom appreciatively before walking into the massive walk-in closet.

“Do what?” Aidan inquired as she pulled open a drawer.

“Glow,” Leah said as she started looking at the clothes hanging up along the left wall. “You get this golden glow whenever you’re around Jacob,” she continued.

Aidan looked down at the clothes in the drawer, pulling out a long sleeved flannel night shirt. “Oh, that.”

“Why does it happen?” Leah pulled out a black dress to look at it more closely.

Aidan chewed on her bottom lip as she went into the bathroom to change. “It’s an Olympian glow, all of the Gods usually have this golden glow to them. Demi-Gods also have it, but it’s linked to their emotions, and unfortunately it’s a beacon for vampires,” she explained as she took her sweater dress off to pull on the flannel night shirt. 

“Well that’s too bad, you look stunning when you’re glowing. Not that you’re not stunning as you are already, but it suits you, it shows that you’re…”

“Happy,” Aidan interjected as she walked back into the closet.

Leah looked at the demi-God with a small smile. “Yeah, and it seems that you could use a bit of happiness in your life.”

Aidan sighed as she dropped her sweater dress and tights into the hamper by the door that lead to the laundry room. “That’s what everyone keeps telling me,” she mumbled as she sat in the back of the closet, sitting with her legs curled beneath her.

“Well, from what I’ve seen from Jacob, you’re due for some happiness in your life. You should embrace it, not run from it,” she pulled out another item, a white turtleneck with with holes at the shoulders and long sleeves.

Aidan looked down at her mostly bare thighs, the night shirt only going to mid thigh, as she thought about Leah’s words and what everyone has been telling her the past two days. She knew she should allow herself to be happy, and she had been willing to finally let herself be happy. Then the vampire showed up, and he isn’t just any vampire, he used to be a demi-God.

Leah pulled Aidan out of her thoughts with idle chit chat about the pack and how they all wanted to meet her.

“Actually, even previous pack members and their imprints want to meet you. They were all shocked when they heard that Jacob had imprinted,” she said from the bathroom where she was trying on a dress.

Aidan stifled a yawn as she realized she couldn’t feel the presence of the sun in the sky, something that came with being the daughter of the Sun God. “Is it really that surprising that he imprinted?”

“Actually, it kind of is. It’s almost rare for one of us to imprint. It wasn’t all that rare ten years ago, four of the pack imprinted within two years, but no one has imprinted since then,” she responded as she walked back into the bathroom to get Aidan’s opinion.

Aidan smiled at Leah’s appearance. The dress was form fitting, a short sleeved turtleneck sweater dress that stopped just above her knees. “That dress was made for you,” she stood up. “A pair of black boots and a nice necklace and you’ve got the perfect outfit for any occasion.”

Leah smiled and went back into the bathroom to change back into her other clothes. She returned shortly and went to put the dress back on the hanger.

Aidan stopped her, “Keep it. Goddess knows I have plenty of clothes, I think I can live without one dress.”

“Are you sure?” Leah asked, holding the dress in her hand.

WIth a nod she pulled the other woman out of the closet, turning the light off. “Positive. Now, how do you feel about hot chocolate?”

As they left the bedroom, turning off the lights as they went, Leah shrugged with a slight smile. “I won’t turn down a cup of hot chocolate, especially if it’s spiked.”

Aidan laughed as they went to the kitchen where she made them mugs of hot chocolate with a shot of cinnamon whiskey in both mugs.

\---

“Aidan, sweetheart, don’t you want to sleep in your bed?”

The warm, deep, husky voice whispered into Aidan’s sleep riddled mind. She smiled at the voice, enjoying how it made her feel so happy. “Mmm,” was her only response, her body too exhausted to completely wake up.

Jacob stood up straight and looked at Leah at the back door. “Go ahead, I’ll take her upstairs,” he said quietly, wanting to let Aidan sleep.

Leah started to walk out and stopped, turning back as Jake was crouching down to pick Aidan up from the couch. “Jake, I know you were planning on taking this relationship slow, letting her tell you when she’s ready, but…” she hesitated, looking away for a moment before looking back at her alpha. “I think she needs you as more than just a friend, whether she realizes it or not. She’s afraid of what will happen if she allows herself to love you, so she might put it off as long as possible.”

He stared at Leah for a moment before looking at Aidan’s sleeping face. “That might be true, but I don’t want to force her into anything. I can’t, even if I want to, you know that,” he whispered.

She sighed as she turned to leave. “She can’t fight the imprint, Jake. She just needs a little nudge to realize she needs you as much as you need her,” she said as she left, closing the door behind her.

Jacob watched Aidan sleep for a moment before picking her up in his arms. He kissed the top of her head as he held her close, walking up the stairs to her bedroom. He held her with one arm and pulled back the comforter on the bed before gently placing her on the soft bed, kneeling on the bed with one knee.

He pulled the blanket over her and started to leave when her hand grasped his. He looked down at her to see her eyes partly open.

Her emerald green and cognac brown eyes were clear as day in the dark room. “Don’t go,” she whispered, “I don’t want to be alone.”

Jake hesitated. He wanted to stay, oh how he wanted to stay with her, but he didn’t want to stay when she was asking this of him while half asleep. His hesitation made her hand tighten around his. “I want you to stay, Jake. Please?” she started to sit up but he stopped her.

“Okay, I’ll stay, but I should go lock the back door,” he said. When Aidan nodded and relaxed into the bed, closing her eyes again, he left the room and went to lock the back door, stopping to survey outside for a moment before turning off the kitchen and living room lights.

He returned to Aidan’s bedroom and walked around the bed, making sure he would be between Aidan and the two windows. He pulled the covers back and slid into the bed which was already warm from the heat radiating off of Aidan. 

She breathed a sigh of relief and turned towards him before he could even lay down. “Thank you,” she whispered as she cuddled into his side. He put his arm around her and let his head fall onto the pillow, a small smile on his lips as he held her close.

As she fell back into a deep sleep, Jake stayed away thinking about what Leah had said. His fingers absently played with a lock of Aidan’s hair as he thought about what he should do about his relationship with her. He didn’t want to rush her into anything, he wanted to go at a pace that she was comfortable with, but he had been waiting for her for so long.

As sleep finally consumed him, Jake decided that he would tentatively make the first move. Though, he didn’t really know when he would do that.

\---

Aidan slowly began to wake, a smile on her lips at the feeling of being surrounded by a warmth that wasn’t her own. It was so familiar and comforting that she felt like continuing to sleep in, the sun having already risen but her not caring that the day was already getting away from her. 

At her slight movement the arms encircling her tightened, pulling her closer to a warm, hard body.

A moan escaped her as she felt a particularly hard body part press against her. She shifted slightly, still mostly asleep. Jake woke up instantly at the feeling of her moving against his body, causing his entire body to become alert. Her night shirt had shifted up and her soft panties rubbed against him, causing him to groan.

He fought the urge to take her, his lust for her growing stronger than it had when he’d first seen her two days ago on the beach. He pulled himself from her and she made a noise of disappointment, rolling to face him.

Aidan, still half asleep, grabbed him and pulled him back to her.

“Aidan, sweetheart, please wake up. If you don’t stop then I can’t stop,” he whispered into her ear, his voice husky with lust.

A shudder passed through her as his breath tickled her ear. She opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times before she realized how close Jake was to her. Her body started glowing as she felt him against her and looked into his eyes, their faces close.

“Morning,” he whispered, trying to push the lust away.

Aidan squeaked and rolled away quickly, her face burning with embarrassment. “I’m sorry,” her apology was muffled by her hands as they covered her face and curled into a ball underneath the blanket.

Jake chuckled and sat up, turning away from her as he tried to calm himself. “It’s fine, but I think I’m going to take a cold shower if that’s ok?”

“Yes,” she said from beneath the blanket. She didn’t move until she heard the bathroom door close and the shower turn on shortly after that. Even then she only turned on her back and stared at the top of the canopy bed, her face flushed and her body still glowing softly. “What was I thinking?” she whispered under her breath, groaning as she shut her eyes and covered her face again. “I wasn’t thinking, my libido was doing all the thinking for me,” she answered herself with a frustrated sigh.

She got out of bed and made her way to the laundry room where she slowly opened the door that lead to her closet. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the door open into the bathroom. The shower door was a frosted glass, so she couldn’t see details, but she could make out Jake’s outline. He had his hands against the wall with his head lowered, just letting the water the water fall over him. 

Aidan slowly and quietly went to the door and closed it most of the way so that she wouldn’t see him and he wouldn’t see her, her body still glowing. She quickly changed, putting on a matching nude bra and panty set, a long sleeved cream colored v-neck top and black skinny jeans with knee high boot socks that she pulled over her jeans.

The shower was still running so Aidan just ran her hands through her hair as she walked back through the laundry room, making her way downstairs. With more space between them and a moment to breath, Aidan’s Olympian glow diminished and her face lost its embarrassed flush.

She grumbled to herself as she went about making two cups of coffee from her Keurig machine.

“I’m not some horny teenager, I shouldn’t be going around rubbing myself against people,” she mumbled to herself outloud.

“Oh, but he isn’t just any person, that’s your soul mate you were rubbing yourself against,” a light bubbly voice said from behind Aidan.

The demi-God yelped in surprise, jumping a foot in the air and turning around, her hand against her chest to stare at Aphrodite sitting on the counter, her back to the living room. 

The Goddess of Love was wearing a slightly see through sleeveless lilac chiffon gown with a plunging neckline. Her legs were crossed and slightly exposed due to the slit in the dress. Her shiny blond hair was down but pulled over her shoulder.

“Aro!” Aidan called the Goddess by her nickname, her voice full of surprise and shock. “What are you doing here?”

Aphrodite’s violet eyes twinkled despite the pout on her face. “I came to see why you stopped yourself from having a little fun this morning.”

Aidan stared at her aunt with an open mouth in a shocked expression. “You were watching?”

Aphrodite waved her hand with a slight shrug. “I would have stopped if it had gone any farther, I merely wanted to see my dearest niece take pleasure in the wonderful gift that is that scrumptious man,” she said with a beautiful smile.

The demi-God groaned and turned back around to start the second cup of coffee. Before she could say anything a deep chuckle from the stairs sent a shiver down her spine and butterflies invade her stomach.

“‘Scrumptious man’?” Jake stood leaning against the wall that separated the dining room from the breakfast room, his arms crossed over his bare chest and an amused look on his face.

“Why hello, handsome,” Aphrodite said as she hopped off of the counter and walked around it to get to Jake. She held her hand out to him with a bright smile, “Aphrodite.”

Jake took her hand and shook it lightly, nodding with a small smile, “Jacob.”

“Oh, I know. And just between us, I’m definitely rooting for you two sleeping together by the end of the week,” she said softly, but by no means trying to keep her words a secret from Aidan who instantly responded with a “Hey!” from the kitchen.

The demi-God turned to send a heated glare at the Goddess, her two toned eyes burning brightly. This only made Aphrodite laugh, the sound pleasant and beautiful. She walked away from Jake and sat on a stool at the bar of the counter she had previously been sitting on. “Oh come on, little flame, I already told you you have more control than you did ten years ago,” she said nonchalantly as placed her chin in the palm of her hand, her elbow on the counter.

Aidan visibly tensed. “Aro,” she hissed the nickname lowly.

Jake sat on the stool next to Aphrodite, a frown on his face. “More control than ten years ago? What happened?” he asked, looking from the Goddess to his imprint.

Aphrodite went still, looking at Aidan with apologetic eyes. “You didn’t tell him?” she asked quietly, regret in her voice.

Aidan turned away and grabbed the two cups of coffee. “No, I haven’t, but thanks for bringing it up,” she grumbled, clearly upset.

“Oh,” the Goddess breathed and bit her bottom lip. “Well, you were going to have to tell him eventually, little flame.”

“Tell me what?” he asked, his frown deepening as he took the cup that Aidan handed to him.

A sigh passed Aidan’s lips as she stepped back and leaned against the counter with the Keurig machine next to the stove. “I told you my mother sacrificed herself to save me from a vampire ten years ago,” he nodded as he took a sip of his coffee. “What I didn’t tell you is why the vampire was there.”

Aphrodite started to slide out of the stool to leave. She stopped at the glare from Aidan. “Don’t you dare. If you leave I swear I will call Hephaestus and tell him that you upset me,” she threatened. Aphrodite sighed and slumped on the stool. Hephaestus adored Aidan, promised to make her a weapon fit for the Gods if she ever wanted one.

He was probably the most upset by the fact that they couldn’t intervene directly in her safety against the vampires. Why, Aidan still didn’t know.

Aidan looked down at the mug in her hands, the steam swirling along the surface before lifting up into the air. “I lost control of my emotions because I had sex with my boyfriend. The vampire killed him before my very eyes before he came after me. If my mother had been a second later, I would have been killed,” she whispered, her grip on the mug tightening to keep her hands from shaking.

Jake stared at her, his face blank but his eyes swirling with many emotions. Finally they softened with understanding. “That’s why you don’t want to be with me,” he whispered.

His words made Aidan flinch and Aphrodite straightened up, her delicate brows knitted together in mock anger. “She most certainly does want to be with you,” the Goddess objected before Aidan had a chance to say anything.

He turned his eyes from Aidan to look at Aphrodite.

“She can’t help but want to be with you, even if she is denying it, she feels it in her soul. Unfortunately, our little flame is scared, and her fear is what has kept her alive for ten years,” she continued, cradling her chin in her hands as she put both elbows on the counter.

Aidan distracted herself by drinking her coffee, her brows pulled together slightly as she refused to look at either of the people in front of her.

Jake looked at Aidan and waited expectantly for her to say something. When she didn’t he turned his eyes back to the Goddess of Love. “What do you suggest?” he asked, knowing that the answer would solve all of his concerns from the night before.

He had been ready to make the first move with Aidan, but that was before he knew she was scared of being intimate.

Aphrodite waited for a moment before sliding from the stool. “I suggest that you simply be here for her. Let her get used to you, let the relationship grow on its own as it would have if neither of you knew you were soul mates. In previous lives neither of you knew you were soul mates, but you still fell in love and lived beautiful lives together,” she confessed with a warm smile.

This information shocked Aidan and she looked up at the Goddess with wide eyes. “What?”

Aphrodite smiled warmly as her body began to glow. “I had to look into your past and see where you both came from. Your souls have been meeting in each life for a thousand years,” she told them softly before vanishing in a golden light.

The two were silent as this news sank in. 

“Where does that leave us?” Jake finally asked, looking at Aidan curiously.

She finally looked away from the spot Aphrodite had been standing to look at Jake. The fact that they were soul mates was something she had finally accepted, but knowing that they had been together for a thousand years somehow changed things.

How, she wasn’t entirely sure, but she felt a little different. Almost like she was a little less reluctant to be with him.

Not that that meant she would plunge head on into the relationship; she was still scared of losing control of her emotions in a more intimate relationship.

“As friends,” she finally said. His eyes flashed briefly in disappointment. “Good friends, friends that share the same bed on occasion when the other one is too scared to sleep alone,” she continued with a faint smile.

Jake brightened and opened his mouth to respond, but Aidan held up a hand to stop him, continuing to hold her cup of coffee in the other hand. “But only if you promise not to seduce me.”

Jake’s laughter was loud and pleasant to Aidan’s ears. “I don’t think that will be a problem on my end. Though, I don’t think the same can be said about you,” he joked.

Her cheeks flushed as she looked down at her coffee again. “Shut up,” she mumbled, causing Jake to laugh again. His laughter was infectious and she found herself smiling.

She was scared of being intimate, scared of herself losing control, but that fear was slowly disappearing as the love for Jake continued to grow.

The future was unknown, and for the first time in ten years, she wasn’t afraid of the future.

If that vampire returned, he would be defeated by the wolves - and by her.

As Aidan went and sat in the stool that Aphrodite had previously occupied, she decided that she would learn to fight, to defend herself and the people she cared about. She didn’t want to be a burden on any of them; she didn’t want anyone dying trying to protect her when she could fight alongside them.


	5. Happy Birthday

Over the next week Aidan fell into a nice rhythm; she woke up at dawn and danced for a couple of hours, usually with an audience of at least one of the wolves when they were patrolling, breakfast with Jacob after she took a shower, changing between reading or watching a show, and taking time to stroll through the forest before making dinner.

Jake had stayed at her house a few nights so far, and a repeat of that first morning hadn’t occurred, but Aidan wouldn’t deny that there was a little tension between them.

In the week they spent together when he wasn’t patrolling or at his shop, they usually just sat in a comfortable silence or talking about their lives more. They just spent time together, Aidan getting used to having him in her life.

Exactly a week after the encounter with the vampire, Aidan found herself walking through the forest. Though, unlike the rest of the week where she aimlessly wandered, this time she was searching for something.

About a mile away from her house and further away from civilization with the sun high in the sky, barely shining light through the mostly cloudy sky and the thick tree coverage, Aidan spotted a beautiful doe. She stopped and stared at the doe, waiting to see what the animal did.

After a moment of grazing, the doe lifted her head and looked right at Aidan. The two stared at each other for a few moments before a strange look filled the animal’s dark eyes and she nodded her head.

Aidan made her way over to the creature, stopping next to her to run her hand over the soft coat of fur.

“Artemis, I have a request,” she said as she doe looked up at her. This wasn’t Artemis herself, but the Goddess often took over a deer momentarily when she knew that Aidan was close to one. “I want you to teach me how to defend myself. That can’t be against the rules as you’re not using your powers to protect me, you’re simply teaching me to fight,” she said as the doe shifted almost uncomfortably.

Aidan gave the doe a pleading look. “Please, I don’t want to be a burden on anyone any more, I want to do what I can to make sure no one gets hurt or dies for me ever again.”

Several minutes passed before the doe finally lowered her head in a nod. Aidan sighed in relief and took a step back. “I’ll let you come to me,” she said, feeling like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

The doe became stiff, her head shooting up straight as her ears moved to listen. Her eyes were wide in fear at something behind Aidan. For a moment the doe stood there, no longer being used by Artemis, in terror before bounding away from Aidan and deeper into the forest.

For a moment Aidan felt her heart constrict in fear for what was behind her. Usually she was good about sensing vampires, but had one managed to sneak up on her?

Then she remembered it wasn’t just vampires that scared deer in the woods. Wolves roamed these woods quite frequently. She began to relax as something nudged into her back. She made a surprised noise as she looked back to see russet colored fur.

“Jake,” she breathed his name and he raised his head. He looked in the direction the doe ran off and then back to her, his brown eyes questioning. She shrugged and ran her fingers through his fur at his neck, enjoying how soft it felt. “I was talking with Artemis, nothing serious,” she said as she stepped closer to him and buried her face in his neck, breathing in the sent of the woods and fur.

A strange rumbling sound filled her ears and she pulled away to look in his eyes. Seeing the disbelief in his eyes she shook her head with a smile. “I swear, nothing serious!” she laughed softly and pushed at him. “Now, will you escort me home or should I ask the other wolf patrolling with you to take me home?” she teased.

A soft growl emitted from him and she laughed. “Alright, alright!” she started walking back towards the house.

She yelped when her dress was tugged on from behind, forcing her to stop walking. She looked back at Jacob who had managed to pull at her dress with his teeth without ripping the material. “Excuse me, you could have ripped this dress!” she complained with a slight frown.

Jake rolled his eyes and motioned to his back with his head.

Aidan stood and stared at him for a moment, not completely sure she understood what he was trying to say. He motioned to his back again and she frowned. “Are you suggesting I ride you like a horse?” she asked in disbelief, finally understanding what he was saying.

He made a sound that she was sure was a laugh.

“Uh, I don’t know,” she started, taking a step back.

The wolf in front of her seemed to sigh and stepped forward, his eyes serious.

Aidan contemplated just walking away, declining his invitation for a ride. Then she wouldn’t hear the end of it about how she walks slow and he could have gotten her home much faster. She sighed before walking to his side.

He lowered himself so that he was all but lying on the ground and she managed to pull herself onto his back.

It wasn’t all that graceful.

Aidan felt his body rumble slightly, the sound she assumed was him laughing coming from his vocals. “Hey! Don’t laugh at me! I’m a dancer not a horseback rider, or wolf rider, so shut it,” she ordered as she slapped him in the neck.

Jake stood and she yelped in surprise, almost falling off. She righted herself and grumbled under her breath. He looked back at her and she stuck her tongue out at him, earning another laugh. She leaned down and pressed her body against him, gripping fistfuls of fur to hold on as he started walking.

He increased speed and soon he was running through the woods, Aidan closing her eyes but otherwise finding it wasn’t as terrifying as she originally expected.

His warmth was soothing and made her feel safe, even with him running extremely fast. She smiled as she buried her face into his fur.

All too soon he was slowing until he walked out of the woods into her backyard. Aidan opened her eyes and sat up, seeing Leah on the back patio, sitting at the table with a cup of steaming liquid.

“Leah, what brings you by?” she asked as Jake stopped at the steps of the patio. Aidan jumped off, stumbling a little but he moved his head to help her. He nudged her with his nose and she smiled. “Thank you, Jake,” she said as she wrapped her arms around his muzzle, pressing her forehead against his head.

She pulled away and started up the stairs of the patio.

“I wanted to see if you had anything planned for tomorrow?” she inquired, taking a sip from the mug.

“Oh, uh,” Aidan hesitated, her hand on the back of one of the other chairs. She chewed on her bottom lip as she realized she hadn’t really planned anything, but she didn’t get to talk to Jake. She hadn’t told anyone except for him that it was her birthday, and she had hoped that he would be able to spend the day with her in Seattle. “Well, I didn’t really have anything planned, but I was going to see if Jake wanted to hang out,” she admitted.

Leah gave her friend an apologetic look. “He didn’t tell you? Someone is bringing their car to the shop tomorrow morning, a fender bender,” she informed her.

“Oh. Well,” she was disappointed but she knew it was her own fault for not talking to him sooner. “What did you have in mind?” she asked as she started walking to the door.

“How about a spa day in Port Angeles?” Leah suggested as she stood and followed Aidan into the house.

Aidan thought about that, it would be nice to just take a day and relax, get pampered. She hadn’t had a spa day in a very long time. It would be the perfect way to spend her 26th birthday, her first birthday where she felt normal since high school.

“That sounds wonderful,” she smiled at Leah as she went to the fridge and pulled out her reusable water bottle.

“Perfect!” Leah exclaimed and they sat at the breakfast room table, planning their trip to Port Angeles.

\---

Leah had stayed for lunch before leaving for patrol. Jake never returned after he had taken Aidan home. After a quick dinner, she settled into the couch with a glass of red wine, all the lights in the house turned off.

She draped a fuzzy throw blanket over her legs and turned on Underworld on Netflix.

Halfway through the movie a soft hand was placed on her shoulder, causing her to jump with a scream.

Aidan scrambled away, turning to see a tall, petite woman with forest green eyes fixed on her. “Artemis! What in the world are you doing in my house?” she demanded, standing up and trying to compose herself.

Artemis arched a delicate brow. “I'm here to train you,” her voice sounded as if she was pointing out the obvious.

“After 8 at night?” Aidan asked with a confused look on her face.

“When else? It'll be easier to train you at night, away from the eyes of your wolf. I'm assuming that's why you found me in secret. Now go get changed, something you can move in easily, and dark,” she said before she walked out of the house through the back door.

Aidan let out a heavy sigh as she turned off the electronics and walking up to her room.

\---

Training with Artemis consisted mostly of archery training. They had gone deep in the forest, maneuvering behind trees when Artemis sensed one if the wolves. When Artemis had finally felt satisfied with the area, after half an hour after leaving the house, she started teaching Aidan about archery.

They spent three hours practicing archery, something Aidan found she enjoyed but didn't see how it would be useful against a vampire. When she voiced this concern to her aunt, the Goddess of the Hunt didn't look to the demi-God as she answered, focusing on their return trip.

“You have an affinity for a particular style. To find that we must teach you to use different weapons until you find which one suits you. Besides, it never hurts to learn to use different weapons,” she said before falling into silence.

“We?” the hoot of an owl was the only response Aidan got. “Right, I guess that makes sense,” she pressed her back against a tree when Artemis hid behind another tree.

A sandy wolf stopped ten feet from their position and sniffed the air. He took a step towards them when a howl in the distance stopped him. He ran off quickly, a growl escaping him.

Artemis hurried Aidan home after that, instructing her to lock up all of her doors and lock herself in her bedroom before she disappeared in a golden light.

Having felt the ominous presence that had filled the forest, Aidan didn't question it. She locked the sliding door with a final look at the dark forest before retreating to her bedroom. She only rinsed off in the shower before slipping into her bed naked, the smooth sheets cool against her hot skin.

It felt like she had just closed her eyes and fell asleep when knocking on her bedroom door pulled her from a dreamless sleep. 

The knocking sounded again and she froze, finally realizing that it was on her bedroom door and not the front door. Her body tensed and went on alert as she slid out of bed and wrapped a short red silk robe around her naked body. She placed her hand on the door and desperately tried to hear who might be on the other side.

She felt a little ridiculous, if it was an intruder they wouldn't have knocked on her bedroom door.

“Aidan, I know you're awake. Open the door, we have to leave,” Leah’s voice drifted through the door and Aidan felt her body relax.

She unlocked and opened her bedroom door to look at Leah in the hallway wearing a black blouse, dark skinny jeans, and black flats. “What are you doing in my house?” she questioned with a frown as she turned and started for the bathroom and her closet.

Leah held up a silver key, “Jacob gave me the key. You weren't in the studio so I figured you were still in bed. We should leave soon if we want to get there by 10.”

Aidan halted on her way into the closet. She leaned back to look at Leah who was standing at the window closest to the bathroom door. “What?” but she didn't need to hear it from Leah, she could now feel the presence of the sun in the sky. She groaned and dashed into the closet.

“What time did you go to bed?” Leah called after Aidan.

“Uh…” she thought for a moment as she pulled on a nude lace bra and panty set. “Around 2am, I think,” she said as she pulled a black quarter sleeve sweater dress with a flowy skirt from a hanger. She put on black knee high socks and brown thick heeled boots she had worn her when she arrived in Forks.

“What were you doing until 2am? Certainly wasn't Jacob because he was with his dad,” she gave her friend a curious look as the demi-God looked at her appearance in the full length mirror on the closet door between the two bathroom sinks.

Aidan gave her a sneer but otherwise didn't respond. She looked at herself in the mirror and lightly pulled at the fabric of the sweater dress. For the most part it was loose on her body but was tight on her thighs. Content with her appearance, she went to her sink farthest from the bedroom door and brushed her teeth.

“You’re not going to answer, are you?” Leah asked as she walked into the bathroom and hopped onto the counter next to the bathroom door.

Aidan shook her head as she brushed her teeth. Leah rolled her eyes as she huffed slightly in mock annoyance before looking at the products on Aidan’s counter. “You’re part Goddess,” she stated.

Aidan spit and rinsed the brush. “Yes, fantastic observation, she-wolf,” she joked before rinsing her mouth, grinning at Leah’s glare.

“If you have the makings of a Goddess, why do you have face cleansers and what not? You have flawless skin,” she gestured to the two types of cleansers and two different moisturizers.

Aidan straightened up after splashing her face with water and patting it dry with a towel to her left. “I’m also human,” she reminded. “Having Gods as blood relatives doesn’t mean that I’m completely impervious to the flaws that make up humans,” she smiled as she grabbed one of the moisturizes and rubbed some onto her face. “It doesn’t happen often, but I can break out and I do get dry skin.”

  
Leah nodded with a fascinated look. “Well, I guess you’re not as almighty as the pack seems to think.”

This made Aidan snort, a very unflattering noise that made the wolf grin. “Please,” she scoffed as she ran a brush through her hair and braided it with a fishtail braid down her back. “I’m here for a reason, because I’m not almighty and still very much mortal.”

Her mortal comment made Leah hesitate before looking ahead at the frosted window above the jacuzzi tub.

Not noticing her silence, Aidan walked out of the bathroom after putting on deoderant and spraying on a light body spray that smelled of jasmine and vanilla. She went to the vanity in her bedroom and pulled out a pair of earrings from one of the drawers and put them on. They were studs that looked like the sun, small sphalerite gemstones set in the center. The bright red-orange color of the gemstones made the cognac color in her eyes stand out more.

Leah walked out of the bathroom and sat on the large almost beanbag like cushion near the door next to the vanity. “I seriously have to get one of these,” she mused as Aidan grabbed for a tube of mascara. “Aren’t we getting facials?” Leah asked, more to remind the other woman.

Aidan stopped and set it back down. “Right,” she pulled a tinted lip balm from the assortment of lip colors and started to leave. “I have some travel mugs, did you want coffee for the road?” she asked as Leah pulled herself from the Lovesac and followed the demi-God downstairs to the kitchen.

“Sure, coffee would be nice since I didn’t get much sleep either,” she stuck her hands in her back pockets and leaned against the small wall that separated the dining room from the breakfast room.

As Aidan went about making two coffees in black travel mugs, she glanced back at the other woman. “He came back last night, didn’t he?” her voice was quiet and almost depressed.

“Yeah, but he didn’t try and come here. It was more like he was trying to test us, see how strong our defenses are. We chased him up towards the Canadian border before we lost him,” she frowned as she crossed her arms over her chest. “That bastard isn’t even trying to fight, just darting in and out like he’s trying to find a hole in our defenses,” she growled.

This had Aidan chewing on her bottom lip as she put a lid on the first travel mug. This vampire was different from others she had encountered, he was patient and not at all in a hurry to get to her.

_ I’ll be back to claim you as my own. _

His words rang in her head and she froze as the coffee was being poured into the other travel mug.

He didn’t just want to kill her, we wanted to turn her.

Leah pushed off of the wall, noticing how Aidan’s shoulders tensed up. “Aidan, what’s wrong?” she asked, concerned for her new friend.

The fear gripping her heart caused her breath to catch in her throat. She pushed it away enough to look at Leah, ready to say that nothing was wrong.

“Don’t you dare say nothing,” the wolf growled at the forced smile that was already pulling at Aidan’s lips.

The demi-God sighed and put the lid on the second travel mug. “I just realized why he’s not trying to get to me right away,” she mumbled as she handed Leah one of the travel mugs. At Leah’s expectant look she turned away and grabbed her purse from the counter in between the fridge and the wall by the entryway to the hall. “He doesn’t just want me dead,” she started.

A growl passed Leah’s lips as she realized where Aidan was going. “We won’t let that leech get close enough to turn you. No way in hell that’s happening,” she was starting to tremble.

As Jacob’s beta and Aidan’s friend, Leah felt that it was her responsibility to ensure the woman’s safety. It wasn’t just because it was her duty as part of the pack, or the fact that she was the imprint of her alpha, it was more than that. The others felt it too, a sense of loyalty and a willingness to die for her that they had only really felt towards Jacob, and even Sam when he had once been alpha.

Aidan was their alpha female, something Emily had never really been even though she was Sam’s imprint.

It was possible that it was different with Aidan because she was the imprint of the true alpha. Or, it was because she was the niece of the Goddess who helped in their creation. Whatever it was, Leah and the other shifters swore to protect her with their lives no matter what.

Aidan looked at her friend and felt a small smile pull at her lips. “I know,” she whispered before she turned towards the door leading to the garage.

“I’ll drive,” Leah said, stopping Aidan from going into the garage. She looked back at the other woman with a curious look.

Leah shrugged, “I know where we’re going so it’ll be easier for me to drive. Besides, I don’t like the idea of being in a solely electric car when we’re going to Port Angeles.”

Aidan rolled her eyes but followed the other woman out the front door. She locked up her house before getting into the dark grey Honda Accord that was Leah’s car.

\---

The hour long drive was spent with Leah introducing Aidan to new music and the two of them talking about Leah’s job at a bank in Port Angeles and her college friend who owned the spa they were going to. Leah tentatively admitted that she had once had a fling with the female spa owner, saying that she had been curious about dating women eight years ago. While the relationship itself hadn’t been bad, she ultimately decided that she just wasn’t a lesbian.

Though, they remained friends even after the relationship ended.

When they arrived at the spa they were taken in for deep tissue massages and aromatherapy facials, though Aidan got an extra service with her deep tissue massage called Reiki. When they were all done and ready to leave, Aidan went to grab her wallet from her purse but Leah and her friend, the spa owner, told her that it was already taken care of.

Feeling way too relaxed and rejuvenated to fight them on it, telling herself that she would repay Leah at a later date.

The woman got back in their car and stopped for large waters at a gas station before starting the return trip.

After drinking half the water bottle in one go, Aidan found it hard to keep her eyes open. When Leah laughed and told her to take a nap, she quickly fell asleep, leaning her seat back slightly and turning on her side slightly with the seat belt still on. The warmth filling the car from both her’s and Leah’s body heat would have been almost stifling to anyone else, but Leah didn’t seem to notice and Aidan found it to be comforting and added to her already relaxed feeling.

Aidan slept the entire ride back to her house and Leah didn’t seem to mind driving in the silence, though she did make a phone call, breaking the law by not using the car’s bluetooth only so Aidan didn’t wake up.

“We just got into Forks, she’s asleep right now. Is everything ready?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper as her eyes glanced over at Aidan to see that she was still knocked out and her heart was beating the same as a few minutes ago.

The person on the other end replied and she nodded. “Good, we’ll be there in about ten,” she said before hanging up and dropping her phone onto her lap.

When she pulled up in front of the house, she made sure to park in front of the two SUVs along the drive. It wasn’t until she saw the lights in the house turn off that she killed the engine and put her hand on Aidan’s shoulder.

“Aidan, wake up, we’re back,” her voice was soft as she roused the other woman from her nap.

Aidan jerked awake slightly and sat up, blinking the sleep from her eyes. She was still feeling a little groggy, a combination of her nap and the time at the spa. Her reiki session had taken a weight off of her shoulders that she realized had been there for a decade. In combination with the deep tissue massage and aromatherapy facial, she felt like an entirely new woman.

Leah hopped out of the car and walked around the back to get to Aidan’s side before the other woman had completely regained her senses.

She laughed as Aidan pulled herself from the car, obviously still a little sluggish. “How does it feel to not feel the weight of the world on your shoulders?” she joked as she continued to block the view of the other vehicles as they walked around the front of the car towards the front door.

Aidan rolled her eyes, but rolled her shoulders slightly. “Feels like a relief,” she joked back as she pulled her keys from her purse and unlocked the double doors. She pushed the right door open and took a few steps in, not at all finding it odd that it was nearly pitch black in the house with the sky filled with clouds that threatened to open up and dump rain on them.

What she did find odd was that the air that surrounded her was pleasantly warm and not chilly like it should have been.

“Uh, did you turn on the heat before we left?” she asked Leah as the other woman closed the door.

“Nope,” Leah replied, her voice sounding almost joyful.

The lights in the foyer, dining room, and living room turned on all at the same time as a chorus of “Surprise!” erupted from the large gathering of people both in the living room entrance and the dining room directly to Aidan’s right.

She screamed in surprise and jumped nearly a foot in the air, stumbling back into the foyer closet door, her hands covering her heart.

Laughter ensued as she stared at all of the dark skinned people in her home, her eyes wide as her heart raced. She recognized Seth and Embry in the dining room, and then she saw Jacob at the light switch panel across from the stairs by the entrance to the living room. 

“What in Mount Olympus is this?” she asked the grinning man.

“Happy birthday,” he replied simply, the grin never leaving his lips.

Aidan stared at him dumbfounded, having almost been ready to accept that he had somehow forgotten she mentioned her birthday. She turned to look at Leah who was smiling at her. “Did you know about this?” she asked her.

Leah shrugged with a smile, “Yeah, I was in charge of getting you out of the house. The spa trip was my birthday present to you. Happy birthday.” She took a step to close the space between them and wrapped an arm around the woman’s shoulders in a half hug.

Emotion bubbled up in Aidan’s chest as she leaned into Leah’s slight embrace, her eyes looking at all of the people who were smiling at her and obviously waiting for introductions, though she knew they all knew who she was.

Leah pulled away and nodded at Jacob who walked over as she moved further into the house, taking Aidan’s purse for her.

Jacob took Aidan’s hand and pulled her to the dining room where an older man with long greying black hair in a wheelchair was waiting with a big smile. She knew who this man was even without an introduction.

“Billy,” she whispered and the man beamed at her as he reached for her hands.

Jacob let her hand go and she put her hands in the soft worn hands of the older man who pulled her down into a hug. “Welcome to the family,” he whispered into her ear. She went to protest and he patted her back. “I know, but you’re still family now,” he told her as if he knew what she was thinking. She pulled back as warmth filled her heart.

“Thank you,” she smiled before she was lead to everyone else. She was introduced to Collin and Brady next who she found out would be leaving soon to patrol. As soon as she started moving onto meet the man she was assuming was Quil who was talking with Embry, a young girl holding his hand and swinging his arm as she looked at Aidan, a little boy ran over from the breakfast room. He dodged the people and latched himself on Aidan’s leg, looking up at her with wide brown eyes, a look of amazement and pure adoration on his face.

“Perty,” he said in a awed little voice, a big grin pulling at his lips. Everyone started laughing as a beautiful woman with long  straight black hair started walking over from the breakfast room.

“Jacob, better watch out, looks like you’ve got some competition!” a man joked with a large grin as he followed the woman.

Aidan reached down, bending over slightly to pick the boy up, holding him on her hip with relative ease. “What’s your name?” she asked softly, smiling as his tiny hands touched her face.

“Nate,” he replied as he leaned into her and pressed his lips to hers. She was shocked as everyone started roaring with laughter.

“Oh, look, Nathaniel kissed Aidan before Jake could,” someone laughed. Aidan felt laughter building in her chest as the woman she assumed was the boy's mother took him from her with an apologetic look.

“I’m so sorry!” she apologized with a blush on her cheeks. Aidan shook her head with a soft laugh. 

“No harm done,” she assured as Nathaniel beamed at her from his mother’s arms.

“My name’s Kim, and this is Nathaniel,” she introduced, setting the wriggling boy down only to sigh as he latched himself to Aidan’s leg again, though this time he was looking up at Jacob who was standing behind her. “And this is my husband, Jared,” she turned slightly to take the arm of the man who had followed her. He smiled at her and held out his hand.

“Pleasure to meet you, demi-God,” he fought back laughter as Jacob stared down at the child refusing to let go of Aidan’s leg.

Aidan shook his hand with a smile of her own. “Is this normal?” she asked with a gesture down to the little boy.

Jared shrugged with a grin as Jacob reached down and plucked the child from her leg. Nathaniel thrashed slightly, making a noise that sounded suspiciously like a growl. “Not usually, but it’s not too often that he meets new pretty women,” he said as he looked at his son with an arched brow. “Is he growling at the alpha?” he laughed.

Aidan shook her head with a smile as she looked at Jacob who was mock glaring at the boy in his arms. “Jake, are you jealous of a little boy?” she teased as she reached and took the boy into her arms. Nate smiled brightly and relaxed in her arms.

Jake looked at her with an arched brow. “Should I be?”

Aidan only smiled before she looked at Kim. “I’ll hold onto him for a little while.”

“You sure?” Kim asked with a hesitant look.

Aidan nodded as Nate laid his head on her shoulder with a big smile. “Positive,” she said as she was then introduced to Quil and Claire who was a little shy but soon asked about her dancing.

When she was finally able to make her way into the breakfast room she was introduced to Sam, a very pregnant Emily, and their eight year old daughter Trisha who was bouncing in the chair with excitement.

When she finally met everyone Emily motioned to the mountain of food on the bar. Non-shifters were instructed to grab food first and Nathaniel finally agreed to leave Aidan’s arms to eat. After Aidan grabbed a plate full of food she walked away and sat in the living room, joined quickly by Claire who sat on her left. Quil and Seth soon joined them, taking the two lounge seats to the left and right of the couch. As Claire was talking about how she wanted to start dancing, Aidan felt the couch sink to her right and looked over to see Jacob sitting with one plate in his lap and another on the coffee table in front of him.

He looked at her with a soft look and she smiled at him. “Thank you,” she whispered and looked back to Claire.

As everyone ate and talked, Aidan felt a warmth in her soul that hadn’t been there since her mother died. The therapist who had been in charge of her reiki and deep tissue massage session had told her that reiki was a technique that activated a natural healing processes and encouraged physical and emotional well-being.

It wasn’t the reason she was feeling so happy and content as she was surrounded by these people that were all talking and laughing as if she had always been apart of their lives; though, she did believe that it helped open up her soul to the love that was obviously among all of these people.

A few hours after Aidan and Leah had returned from Port Angeles, Claire and Trisha were asking Aidan to dance for them.

“Girls, how about some other time? Let Aidan relax on her birthday,” Emily called from the round table a few feet from the couch where they were sitting together next to Aidan. Jacob was still next to her, his arm on the back of the couch behind her as she sat turned with her back against him, facing the two girls.

Aidan shook her head and smiled over at Emily. “It’s fine, I would love to dance for them,” she said as she pulled herself away from Jacob, the girls’ faces brightening.

“Are you sure? I can always bring them by some other time,” Emily said.

Aidan waved her hand, dismissing the idea. “I didn’t get a chance to dance this morning, so it’s perfect. I just have to go change, so I’ll be right back,” she said and hurried up the stairs before anyone could say anything else.

WIth a moment to herself in her closet, Aidan let herself think about the day. She hadn’t been expecting to find her house full of life so soon. Jacob and Leah had both warned her that it would happen eventually, but never had she expected it to happen this soon, barely two weeks after moving in.

Dressed in a white leotard with a lace back and quarter sleeves, pale pink tights, and a short soft pink circle skirt, pink pointe shoes in hand, Aidan walked out of her closet and into her room to stop when she saw Jacob sitting on the Lovesac next to her vanity.

He smiled at her, the look both sheepish and adoring. “I hope you liked the surprise,” he said as he pulled himself from the comfortable seat.

She nodded with a smile. “Scared the living daylights out of me, but I like it,” she responded as she started for the door.

Jake stopped her, taking her free hand. “I wanted you to know that you are safe here, that no matter what happens, you are safe and loved,” he said softly. She looked up at him and felt her resolve slipping, wanting to lean into him as more than just a friend. With the knowledge that he did this to show her how much she was already loved warmed her heart.

“Thank you,” she breathed as tears pricked at her eyes.

Jacob leaned down and kissed her forehead before pressing his forehead to hers. “I’m still fine with waiting for you to be ready, but I wanted you to know that you have a family here.”

Family.

The Olympians would always be her family, but Aidan had missed the love and connection that came with being with family. It was something that she didn’t really have with the Olympians. That love and connection had finally returned with the people that filled her house.

Aidan closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying how it felt to have Jacob so close. “I appreciate it, and you. Thank you,” she whispered as she pulled back slightly and kissed his cheek. “The best birthday gift anyone could have given me,” she smiled brightly as she started walking around him.

He turned and followed her. “Don’t think this was the only thing I planned for you. I have another gift but I’ll give that to you when everyone is gone,” he said, a grin on his lips.

Aidan stopped at the top of the stairs and looked back at him with a frown. “I swear to Zeus if you try and seduce me I will kick you out,” she warned.

Laughter from the living room erupted at her comment and Jacob raised his hands in a defensive motion, though he was still grinning. “No seducing, I promise.”

Aidan sighed and grumbled to herself as she walked down the stairs. She made her way through everyone to get to the studio where she put on her pointe shoes. “You can sit along the mirror,” she said to Claire and Trisha who rushed into the room and quickly sat down.

Much to her surprise, everyone filed in and sat with the girls along the mirror wall. She sat blinking in surprise as she stopped lacing her pointe shoe. After a moment she returned to securing the shoes on.

“Leah, pass me my iPod, please,” she requested of her friend who was next to the shelf on the wall by the door. The woman walked it over as Aidan stood up and handed it to her. She flipped through songs until she found one. She handed it back to Leah. “It’s already paired with the bluetooth speakers so when I tell you to, just hit play,” she instructed before starting to stretch.

Leah returned to her previous spot as Aidan took a few moments to stretch her legs, not once turning her back to everyone. After a few minutes she breathed out and walked to the end of the room with the glass wall. She stood ready and nodded at Leah. With a moment of silence she walked gracefully out to the middle of the room.

As the music for Aurora’s dance in Act III of Sleeping Beauty started, Aidan danced with a smile on her face. This particular routine required free movements and for the dancer to have joyful and almost youthful movements.

The joy she felt for being surrounded by these people who obviously cared about her influenced her dance and made her shine. Though, it wasn’t the Olympian glow that brightened her features and gave her a radiant look, but her own happiness that shined through.

After the near two minute dance was over, Claire and Trisha clapped excitedly and requested another dance.

Aidan laughed and walked over to Leah, taking the iPod and finding another song. She smiled at Billy who was in the doorway, an amazed look in his eyes. “You’re an excellent dancer,” he told her. “Jacob’s stories don’t give you justice.”

A blush colored her cheeks but the Olympian glow was nowhere to be seen. “Thank you, Billy,” she said softly as she handed the iPod to Leah against and returned to the middle of the room.

Odette’s solo from Swan Lake was one that she loved. Truthfully, she enjoyed the four swans dance the most, but hadn’t been able to do that dance since high school. Though, she had a feeling if she asked the Goddesses, they would be more than happy to dance with her.

As she started the pique turns she heard sounds of awe from Trisha and Claire. She remembered how she felt when she was a little girl just learning ballet and watching the older girls dance. The feeling of amazement and wonder, and an excitement to know that one day she would be just like them.

Aidan stopped, her hand in the air and one leg pointed behind her. She took a ballet bow, her arms extending behind her in the way Odette would bow. Claps erupted and she was rushed by the two girls, their eyes wide.

“Will you teach us to dance?” Trisha asked with a bright smile.

“Trisha!” Emily laughed.

Aidan giggled as she knelt in front of the little girl. “Maybe not today, but I wouldn’t mind teaching you, if your parents are okay with it,” she said with a warm smile as she looked up at Emily.

The pregnant woman sighed as she rest her hands on her round belly. “We’ll have to talk to your parents, Claire, but I don’t see why not,” she admitted.

The girls seemed excited with the prospect of learning ballet and insisted on asking Aidan all sorts of questions. Everyone started making their way back into the house and Emily finally convinced the girls to let Aidan be.

With the back porch light on, the kids were allowed to play on the back porch, Seth and Quil volunteering to play with them while Emily and Kim started cleaning up the containers the food had been in. Aidan had offered to help but was turned away, saying that it was her birthday.

Instead she sat in the living room after taking leaving her pointe shoes at the bottom of the stairs and talked more with Billy and Sam, Jacob eventually joining them with a glass of water for her.

After a couple of hours the children came back in, obviously tired and that was everyone’s cue to start leaving. Sam and Emily were the first to leave with a tired Trisha and Claire. Jared and Kim didn’t leave so soon, even though Nathaniel was curled up on the couch with his head on Aidan’s lap asleep.

They stayed as Billy told Aidan about Jacob’s sisters, that they would both be returning for the Fourth in a week with their families, so she would be able to meet both of them then. Though, they informed her that Rebecca didn’t know that the Quileute legends were true, or that supernatural creatures were real.

When he finally did start leaving with Jared and Kim, Nathaniel in Jared’s arms, it was almost nine o’clock. Aidan walked them out, Jacob staying in the living room with Leah, Quil, Embry, and Seth, Collin and Brady having left after eating to patrol.

“Thank you for coming by,” Aidan said as she hugged the old man.

He smiled up at her, holding onto her hand after she pulled away. Kim was helping Jared get Nathaniel into the car seat in their SUV. “Of course, Aidan. I couldn’t wait to meet the woman who finally managed to tame that wild son of mine,” he joked with a twinkle in his dark eyes.

A soft blush colored her cheeks as she looked down. “It’s all still a little strange to me, but I do appreciate his patience with me,” she admitted softly.

Billy’s hand tightened around hers. “He hasn’t told me anything about why you’re hesitating, but they don’t force themselves on their imprints, my dear. They will continue to be whatever their imprint needs, especially Jake. He will wait for you for as long as you need, and if he doesn’t, you let me know,” he assured her with a mock look of anger that made her giggle.

“I will,” she promised with a smile as she let go of Billy’s hand.

He looked back at Jared who was coming back to help him down the couple of steps on the porch. He looked back at Aidan, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a small black velvet bag. “Jacob said it was necessary to get you any gifts, that you would just appreciate having us here, but I wanted to make you something,” he said as he handed her the small black drawstring bag.

Aidan took it in her fingers with teary eyes. She opened it and and reached in, feeling a cord.

“Jacob told me about your mother and a little about your history. It’s not much, but it’s nice to be reminded of where you come from when you’re feeling lost,” he said as she pulled a bracelet from the pouch.

Little flat wooden charms were woven into black cord; an owl, a moon, a sun, and an intricate heart were all the size of a nickel and carved from a dark wood and sanded until smooth. She let it rest in the palm of her left hand, lightly touching the charms with her right hand.

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed as she held it tightly and looked at him with misty eyes. “Thank you, Billy,” she leaned down and hugged him again, planting a kiss on his cheek.

“Of course, Aidan. See you in a week,” he said as Jared walked up to them.

“Happy birthday, Aidan,” Jared said as he picked Billy’s wheelchair with him in it and setting him back down on solid ground.

“Thank you, Jared. See you all in a week,” she replied as she watched them go to Jared’s vehicle. She waited until they were in the car and driving away before she returned inside, closing and locking the door. When the others left they would probably just leave by the back door.

“Aidan, come here!” Seth called from the living room.

She walked into the living room to find Quil and Embry on both chairs on either side of the couch, Leah on the end of the couch closest to the back door with Seth sitting on the armrest next to her, and Jacob on the end closest to her. On the coffee table was a large flat box and a smaller box next to it, both wrapped in simple blue wrapping paper.

“Guys, I really didn’t need any presents,” she said as she sat in between Jacob and Leah.

Seth gave her a big grin. “We know, but we wanted to do this for you,” he told her, once again reminding Aidan of a big puppy with how excited he looked.

Leah rolled her eyes at her brother and retrieved the large box from the table and setting it on her friend’s lap. “This is from everyone, we all pitched in to help it,” she said as Aidan looked at her and then looked down at the box.

“It wasn’t easy,” Embry grumbled. “Though, it was fun,” he admitted.

Aidan gave a small smile as she slid her fingers under the paper and separated the tape to remove the wrapping.


	6. Gifts to be Treasured

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters are finally caught up with what I have done. I'm currently still working on the next chapter, so I might be updating on a weekly basis now. I really hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. I would love to know what you all think!

Once the paper was removed and the plain white gift box exposed, Aidan lifted the lid and stared down at the woven blanket within. Familiar brown eyes set within the blanket stared up at her and she felt her fingers still above the soft fabric.

“What do you think?” she heard someone ask, but she couldn’t figure out who as she let her fingers graze over the likeness of Jacob’s wolf form on the blanket.

Aidan slowly pulled the blanket from the gift box and unfolded it to see the other wolves of the pack, as well as a few others behind the seven she knew was the current pack. “It’s beautiful,” she breathed as she lay it back down on her lap over the box and ran her hand along the wonderful fabric.

“It was Jake’s idea,” Quil said as he leaned back in the chair.

Aidan lifted her eyes from the blanket to look at the large man next to her. He gave her a soft look, a smile on his lips. She felt her cheeks warming right along with her heart as she looked at the others, “Thank you, I love it.”

They all smiled at her before standing up. “Well, I think it’s time for us to head out. Claire wants to go see a movie tomorrow and expects me to be up early to take her to Port Angeles,” Quil said with a smile.

Embry started to laugh but his friend cut him off. “You’re coming too, buddy. I can handle Claire on her own, but not with a bunch of other teenage girls. If I have to suffer, so do you,” he growled slightly, Embry deflating with a sigh.

“Damn,” he cursed.

“Just remember to be back for your patrol,” Jacob called as they walked out of the back door.

Seth nudged his sister’s shoulder and she looked up at him. “Mind if I ride with you?” he asked and she shrugged slightly.

Aidan walked them out, hugging them as they left. Leah held onto her hand as Seth walked over to her car, though they both knew that Seth and Jacob could hear them.

“I know why you hesitate, Aidan, we all do. We understand, but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to give a little more?” she suggested with a small smile as she nodded into the house. “He’s done so much to show you just how much you mean to him,” she paused and smiled, “and to us.”

Aidan’s grip tightened on Leah’s hand, simply nodding. She didn’t really know how to answer. After the tenth anniversary of her mother’s death she had felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Though, she hadn’t stopped being afraid of her own emotions and what could happen if she lost control of them.

Especially with that vampire trying to turn her.

Leah held onto Aidan’s hand a little longer before releasing and taking a step back. “It’s only been a couple of weeks since we met you, but you’ve become so important to all of us, Aidan. I hope you know that we would do anything for you,” she said with a small smile.

There was something in Leah’s tone that had Aidan frowning slightly. Before she had a chance to ask her friend what she meant, Leah was already turning and walking down the porch.

“I’ll see you in a couple of days for movie night,” Leah called back before getting into her car.

Aidan waved with a nod, her brows still furrowed in confusion at the shifter’s words. When Leah and Seth drove off she wrapped her arms around herself and stared into the dark forest surrounding her home. She knew she should go inside, but she felt like she couldn’t move from that spot just yet.

A warm presence behind her signaled that Jacob had joined her. 

“Why am I so important to the pack?” she asked, not turning to look at the large man behind her.

The blanket that was made for her was draped over her shoulders and she wrapped it around her, Jacob’s hands resting on her shoulders.

“You’re my imprint,” he said simply.

She shook her head slightly and turned to look up at him. “It’s more than that. Leah said that they would do anything for me, and the way she said it, it was,” she paused and turned to look at the forest again, frowning as she searched for the right words.

“It was like she was pledging her fealty to me,” she finally said in a quiet tone, though her eyes went wide slightly as she turned to once again look up at Jake. “What am I to the pack? I’m more than just your imprint, it’s something else, isn’t it?”

Jacob sighed as he nodded, looking out into the forest for a few moments before looking back at her. “They feel a strong sense of loyalty to you. None of us were sure what it was at first, we just assumed it was the fact that you’re an imprint. But then the vampire showed up and we started realizing it was more than just the imprint that drove the pack to protect you,” he started to explain. He reached up and tucked some of her hair behind her ear, brushing the strands away from her face. “Maybe it’s because you’re my imprint, or maybe it’s because you’re part Olympian, but you’ve become their Alpha female,” he told her.

This information caused Aidan to frown up at the man who was her soulmate. After a couple of heartbeats she shook her head and stepped around him and back into the house. “That’s absurd, Jacob. I’m not a shifter or a wolf, so how could I possibly be their Alpha female?” she asked as she held the blanket tighter around her body. 

Jacob followed her inside, closing the door and locking it behind him. “Trust me, we all know that, but their feelings are undeniable. If you were to tell them to do something, they couldn’t deny you. Honestly, it’s not like they would want to. It would seem that the connection to you as their Alpha female is a little different than with me,” he told her as she stopped at the back door. 

She looked at the woods behind her house, a house that was now so full of love that Aidan had never expected when she first moved in. While her house might be filled with love, she knew that outside these walls there was a darkness looking to snuff out the love and light that was filling not just her house, but her soul as well.

Aidan could see Jacob’s reflection in the glass walking closer to her until he was right behind her.

“What about you?” she breathed.

“Me?” he asked her curiously, a warm statue behind her.

She turned and looked up at him. “If it wasn’t for the imprint, where would you stand with me?” she asked him curiously.

A frown formed on his face, his brows drawing together at her question. “I don’t know,” he answered honestly after a moment.

They were soul mates, that was undeniable, but he didn’t know how he would feel if he hadn’t known that little bit of information.

“I would imagine that even if I hadn’t imprinted on you, I would still be yours to command,” he told her honestly, albeit a little joking as the frown melted into his lopsided grin.

Aidan rolled her eyes and lightly punched him in the shoulder. “I guess that was a stupid question,” she admitted as she stepped around him to get to the couch. “Now, I take it this present is from you?” she inquired as she sat on the couch, letting the blanket fall from her shoulders as she picked the small box up.

Jacob, still grinning, sat with her on the couch, only a few inches of space between them. “I couldn’t pass up the chance to give you something tangible for a birthday present,” he told her as he leaned back into the couch, his arm resting on the back behind her.

Aidan glanced at him, a soft look in her eyes. “You really didn’t have to, Jake. Getting to meet everyone today and seeing how much they welcomed me was more than enough,” she told him softly.

He shrugged his left shoulder as he turned slightly to face her, bending his right leg so that it was on the couch with his foot underneath his left leg. “I know, but I wanted to get something that you could have one you always,” he told her.

A soft sigh passed her lips before she turned her attention to the small box in her hands. She unwrapped the paper to find a black jewelry box underneath the paper. Though, it wasn’t the right size for a ring, she knew that it had to be a piece of jewelry. “First your dad with the bracelet and now you. What’s with you Black’s and jewelry?” she asked jokingly.

Jacob rolled his eyes with a small grin. “Just open the box, Aidan,” he ordered, though his tone was more joking than authoritative. 

With a small smile, Aidan lifted the top of the box open and gasped at the necklace inside. It was a gold sun pendant inside of a thin gold band with the words  _ Little Flame _ engraved into it. The center of the sun was a beautiful amber stone that almost seemed like it was shining with its own light. It wasn’t as sparkling or magnificent as the gemstones in the earrings she was wearing, but it held its own beauty set within the golden sun pendant.

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed as she picked the pendant up from it’s black velvet bed and pulled it from the box, a gold chain lifting from behind the velvet.

“Look at the back,” he instructed, his eyes continuing to watch her face with a warm and adoring look in his chocolate brown eyes.

Aidan did as instructed and turned the pendant over in her fingers. On the flat back of the sun were the words  _ From your Sun _ were engraved in the same beautiful script as the engraving on the front. Tears filled her eyes as she looked up from the necklace to meet Jacob’s eyes.

“I will always be here for you, Aidan, your own personal sun on the dark and stormy days,” he told her softly, a warm smile on his lips.

The emotion that filled her heart spilled out of her in the form of tears. Though, her Olympian glow didn’t make an appearance as she looked down at the beautiful necklace in her hands, something she didn’t notice but Jacob did.

She unclasped the chain and put it on, pulling her hair from underneath the chain when it was clasped. Her fingers brushed over it as it rested just under her neck.

“Beautiful,” Jacob whispered when Aidan looked up at him, though he was talking about more than the necklace she now wore.

He reached over and brushed the tears from her cheeks. Aidan looked into his eyes, her heart still filled with the emotion of receiving such a beautiful gift.

Leah’s question from early rang through her mind. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to give just a little bit more.

With that in mind, Aidan slowly leaned forward, her heart racing as she moved closer to the large man in front of her. She barely noticed how his eyes widened in surprise and his body went still, his right hand still on her face from having been brushing away her tears.

Without another moment’s hesitation, Aidan closed her eyes and lightly pressed her lips to Jacob’s.

A warm shock passed through them both the moment their lips met, a pleasant heat following the initial shock of the kiss. Aidan’s body leaned into Jacob’s as her hands moved to rest on his chest, his right hand moving into her hair as his eyes closed.

Warmth filled Aidan’s heart as a feeling of wholeness filled her entire being. She tentatively deepened the kiss as Jacob buried his hand in her hair to keep her close.

After what felt like eternity, Aidan finally pulled her lips from his and he pressed his forehead onto hers. They were both breathing a little heavily but neither of them opened their eyes.

“Wow,” she breathed as she opened her eyes to look at Jacob.

He opened his eyes and she saw herself reflected in the chocolate brown depths. She was glowing. Her hands gripped his shirt beneath her hands as fear gripped her heart at seeing the Olympian glow in his eyes.

Jacob pulled his hands from her hair and stroked her face. “Calm down,” he whispered as his fingers lightly stroked the side of her face before he let his palm rest on her cheek. “It’s fine, Dani, just breath,” he instructed softly. “Look in my eyes and breath, it’s going to be fine.”

Aidan did what he told her, looking into his eyes and forced herself to not see her reflection, but her heart never stopped racing.

“You’re fine,” he whispered as he smiled at her, the Olympian glow slowly diminishing.

After a few rapid beats of her heart, Aidan let out a sigh and closed her eyes, taking in the warmth that flowed through her from Jacob’s touch. She had more control than she did a decade ago. There was more to her now than there had been before.

With a steadying breath she opened her eyes and looked into the chocolate depths of Jacob’s eyes, no longer seeing her glowing reflection.

His signature crooked smile pulled at his lips as he tucked some of her hair behind her ear and slowly pulled his forehead from hers. “See? Everything’s fine,” he whispered.

A soft, almost sheepish smile formed on Aidan’s face as she averted her gaze from his. “For now,” she mumbled. “It’s not guaranteed that it’ll be the same next time.”

Jacob lightly took her chin in his hand and moved her face so that she was looking at him again. “Next time?” he whispered, his eyes alight with hope and adoration for the demi-God in front of him.

A blush colored her cheeks as she felt her body warming from the look she was receiving. Though, she kept her breath steady as she focused on keeping her emotions in check, a hard task with a whole new set of emotions settling in her heart and stomach. “Well, yeah,” she started. “I figured that it was as good a time as any to take the next baby step. I mean, I don’t feel comfortable going any further, but there’s no harm in…” she was cut off by his lips meeting hers again.

The shock returned, sending every nerve into overdrive as Jacob pulled Aidan onto his lap so her back was against the couch. Her right hand balled into a fist, holding his shirt tightly as her left hand found its way into his hair. 

Their first kiss had been soft and slow, but this kiss held all of the passion that their souls needed to convey.

When Jacob finally pulled himself from Aidan, she was only glowing slightly. Though, her face was flushed which gave her an entirely different glow. He stroked her face softly until she opened her eyes and looked at him.

“I’ll eventually get used to that,” she said, breathless.

He grinned with an almost mischievous look in his eyes. Before he could move in for another kiss, Aidan brought her right hand up and placed her fingers against his lips.

“Cool it, lover wolf,” she teased as she moved off of his lap and out of his arms, the glow slowly diminishing. “I said eventually, doesn’t mean you have to keep kissing me,” she laughed as she started gathering the torn paper.

Jacob chuckled, a low sound that sent chills running down Aidan’s spine. “Alright, but don’t expect me  _ not _ to kiss you now that you’ve open that door. No take backs,” he chuckled as he kissed her temple before standing up with her.

She shook her head at him, a small smile on her lips and a blush coloring her cheeks. “Don’t worry, I won’t take away that privilege,” she joked lightly as she balled up the trash and walked into the kitchen to throw it away.

“Do you hear that?” Jacob’s voice was soft, curious as he looked out at the forest from the large kitchen windows. A slight frown formed on his face, his brows pulling together as he scanned the trees, his body slightly tense as he listened more closely.

Aidan set the paper on the counter by the doorway to the garage and looked at him. She arched a brow, not hearing anything as she made her way over to him. “I know you have super human hearing, but…” her words were cut off by the sound of a flute, or other type of wooden wind instrument that she couldn’t name.

“Huh,” she breathed as she closed her eyes, the tune something familiar.

“You hear it?” Jacob questioned as he looked down at her. She hummed a response, still not opening her eyes as she thought about where she’d heard the tune before.

Finally her eyes snapped open with a surprised look. “Oh,” she breathed as she hurried to the back door.

“Aidan!” Jacob called after her as she opened the door and ran onto the porch with her feet still bare, having pulled her ballet tights up to her ankles earlier. “What are you doing?” he asked as he hurried outside, Aidan already at the railing of the porch, her eyes wildly searching for the source of the music within the trees.

Jacob tensed when he saw movement directly in front of them in the trees. A low growl sounded in his chest and Aidan smacked his arm. “Oh, be quiet, you over protective wolf,” she teased lightly, her eyes never leaving the forest.

He stared down at her in shock. He opened his mouth to say something when she smiled brightly, her eyes lighting up even more. “Look!” she exclaimed.

The flute was louder now. He looked to the woods as a soft drum beat joined the flute and watched as a half man-half goat stepped out of the trees.

He couldn’t help but stare in complete shock as this creature was joined by another holding a small drum and was seemed to be some kind of maracas.

Aidan hurried down the stairs of the patio with light steps as another satyr emerged with a small violin and two gorgeous lithe women emerged from the trees. They both had an almost other worldly look to them with their beautiful brown hair with flowers woven in them, flowing pale dresses.

Jacob watched as Aidan happily took the hands of the two women and began a little dance to the song that the satyr’s provided. It was a beautiful song, happy and made for dancing.

Laughter spilled past Aidan’s lips as she danced with the nymphs, the satyr’s playing the beautiful song like they had many times when she was younger. It was something of her birthday song from them, and she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed it until then.

With the aid of the massage from earlier that day, Aidan’s soul began to heal from all of the pain and loss she had experienced. Being in the company of such beautiful creatures like the satyrs and nymphs was something that helped to lift her spirits more than just feeling loved and feeling like she belonged.

The sound of the panpipe ended and the nymphs stopped dancing, wrapping their arms around the demi-God.

“Happy birthday, Aidan. It’s been a long time,” they breathed into her ears.

Aidan pulled away from them and looked to the satyr’s. “Thank you, all of you. You don’t know how happy I am to hear your music again,” she admitted with a warm smile.

The satyr with the panpipe bowed low to her with a smile. “We are happy to have gotten word of your relocation. It’s good to see you happy once again, Goddess,” he said.

Aidan rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I’m not a Goddess, and you know that Phil,” she looked back as she felt the warm presence of Jacob.

The nymphs went at full attention, there eyes widening in appreciation as they took in the sight of Jacob. The satyr’s stared at the large man with slight fear in their dark eyes, though, that fear was hidden well.

“This is Jacob,” she started introducing.

“Your soulmate,” one of the nymphs breathed as she looked him up and down.

The other grinned mischievously as she looked Jacob over and then looked to Aidan. “Aphrodite couldn’t help but gush about the latest development with Apollo’s favorite daughter. But she kept out just how delicious he is,” she purred appreciatively.

The compliments and attention made Jacob grin and Aidan roll her eyes. “Please, ladies, his ego doesn’t need to be stroked any further.” Both of the nymphs giggled and went to say something. “Ah! No! Don’t even say it! You dirty, dirty girls!” she shoed them away. “Go away before you say something we’ll all regret!”

The nymphs giggled and pranced off into the forest, calling “happy birthday” behind them.

The satyrs lingered for a moment, two of them bowing with whispered “happy birthday” greetings before disappearing into the forest.

The first satyr, Phil, remained for a moment longer. “We’ll be around for some time, Dani, in case you want more songs. Though, don’t forget that my grandfather was more than just your standard variety satyr,” he told her cryptically, barely glancing at Jacob who hand his arm around Aidan’s shoulders.

“Thank you, Phil,” she responded with a small smile and a small nod of understanding and appreciation.

He nodded in return and finally looked to Jacob. The two stared at each other for a few tense moments in which Aidan started to feel uncomfortable, like she was right in the middle of some pissing contest.

“Take care of her, wolf. She’s a special lass and means a lot to all of us, not just the Olympians,” he said gruffly. With a final bow to Aidan he turned and disappeared into the forest.

Silence fell between the two standing in the dim light pooling out from the house.

“So,” Jacob started, breaking the silence. “They just came to play you a song and left,” he stated, his voice confused.

She shrugged slightly with a small smile as she wrapped her arms around her midsection. “It was something they did for me every birthday. When I started running I never stayed in one place too long, so it was difficult for them to find me. It was their way of showing me that they would be around and return if I ever want them to,” she told him, feeling a sense of belonging, like she really was home.

Aidan turned and looked up at him. “They have given me the gift of song and dance, and shown me that they are here for me. It’s a wonderful present,” she said with a soft smile. “Now, do you have to be leaving too?” she asked as she started walking back to the house.

He followed her into the house, watching as she gracefully walked. “I can stay for a while longer, but I need to check in with Collin and Brady in a few hours for an update. I can come back before I have to go to the shop,” he told her as they walked inside.

Aidan stretched her arms above her head as she stifled a yawn as he locked the back door behind them. “That sounds fine. Though, I hope you don’t mind me going to bed, I’m really tired,” she said as she picked up the blanket from the couch and the little black pouch from the coffee table. 

“You go get ready for bed, I’ll clean up a little and meet up upstairs,” he offered.

She nodded and headed upstairs, picking up her pointe shoes from the steps before heading to her bedroom. As she walked down the hall she felt the events of the day sinking in, her muscles starting to feel almost like jelly from the relaxing massage and the dancing.

Entering the dark bedroom, Aidan set the black velvet pouch on her vanity and dropped the blanket on the Lovesac next to the door before making her way to the bathroom. She closed the door and went about washing her face and brushing her hair before changing into a spaghetti strap tank top and flannel shorts.

A small yawn escaped her as she left the bathroom, turning off the light to walk to her bed. As she pulled the comforter back Jacob walked in and partially closed the bedroom door before moving around to the other side of the bed, the side closest to the windows.

Aidan waited for Jacob to get in bed, bare chested but still wearing his pants, before she curled up against his side and settled in for the night. He wrapped his arm around her lithe frame, his thumb softly moving against her arm as he kissed the top of her head.

“Goodnight, Jake,” she breathed, already half asleep.

“Goodnight, sweetheart, sweet dreams,” he responded softly, breathing in the wonderful scent that was his imprint.

A soft hum was his response as she fell asleep to the steady sound of his heart beat.

Jacob continued to lie awake as she slept, listening to her slow heartbeat, signaling that she was dead asleep. Her breaths were soft against his chest, tickling him slightly. The day continued to replay in his mind, how she seemed to get along with everyone, how she smiled and laughed in a way he hadn’t seen before, how she danced with such joy that she glowed without the aid of her Olympian blood.

Aidan shifted and sighed as her right leg moved to drape over his left and rest between his two legs.

Their kisses replayed in his mind and he closed his eyes as a smile pulled at his lips. He had kissed plenty of women over the past ten years, but never had they been as amazing and otherworldly as the kisses he shared with Aidan had been. He had always heard stories about there being a shock with a kiss, but he had never imagined that would have been true. Yet, their kiss had been full of spark and had had left every nerve in his body feeling super charged. 

With the memory of their kisses fresh on his mind and Aidan’s warm body pressed into the side of his, Jacob slipped into a light slumber.

\---

_ Pleasure filled Aidan as Jacob kissed her. It was a passionate kiss that sent chills down her spine and had her toes curling. _

_ They were laying on the beach, the sky was mostly clear and the sun shining down on them. Jacob was mostly on top of her, leaning on his right arm to keep his weight off of her. His left hand was caressing the side of her face, his fingers trailing down to glide along her neck. _

_ As his fingers caressed her collarbone and slowly moved lower to her breasts hidden beneath a pale blue strapless bikini top. His fingers moved along the hem of the top of the bikini, his touch feather light against her skin. _

_ She moaned softly into his kiss, arching her back slightly. Her hands, one on his hip and the other gripping his bicep, tightened as her fingers dug into his flesh. His hand covered her right breast and he squeezed ever so gently, the heat of his hand seeping through the fabric and causing her nipple to become erect. _

_ Another moan escaped her vocals as Jacob’s lips left hers and trailed kisses down along her jawline before moving down her neck. He nipped at the curve of her neck, eliciting another soft moan from her.  _

_ Her skin was only glowing softly as her pleasure increased. _

_ Just as he was starting to kiss farther down, a howl interrupted them. It sounded urgent, almost scared. _

_ Jacob pulled his lips from Aidan’s skin, his eyes lifting to look at the forest. She groaned in disappointment before letting out a sigh. _

_ “Go,” she whispered, causing Jacob’s chocolate brown orbs to look down at her. “It’s fine, go see what the problem is,” she insisted, bringing her hands up to hold his face. She gave him a chaste kiss before letting him go. “I’ll be here when you get back,” she smiled softly and lightly pushed at him until he rolled away from her. _

_ “I’ll hold you to that,” he teased as he stood up. _

_ Aidan laughed softly, rolling her eyes and sitting up as he ran into the forest. She lay there, propped up on her elbows and watching the waves. As she sat there feeling a peace wash over her, the Olympian glow slowly diminished from her skin. _

_ The time that passed after Jacob had left was peaceful for Aidan. She closed her eyes and let the warmth of the sun relax her further as she thought about exactly how far she wanted to go with Jacob. Things had been getting interesting when he had been pulled away, and she hungered for more from him. _

_ When Aidan opened her eyes she was met with a different scene, one that was much darker than the bright and beautiful beach she had just been looking at. _

_ She stood on her back porch with dark clouds blocking out all light from the sun. There was an ominous feeling settled over the forest in front of her that seeped into her soul and filled her with fear. _

_ A howl broke the silence of the forest and made her jump. It was filled with pain and was suddenly cut off. _

_ Without another moment to think, Aidan turned to her left and ran down the porch steps before running into the forest. It wasn’t smart, she knew that, she knew she was running towards the danger, but she needed to see it. She needed to see for herself exactly what was going on. _

_ She was panting for breath by the time she saw the fallen wolf. _

_ Soft brown fur was matted with blood. _

_ Seth. _

_ Nausea had Aidan pausing, leaning against a tree as she closed her eyes and tried to gather her wits. After a moment she opened her eyes and looked at the fallen wolf again, tears pooling as she stepped forward and saw that he wasn’t breathing. _

_ “Seth,” she whimpered as she fell to her knees by her friend’s head and saw that his throat had been ripped out. She choked on a sob and let her hands fall onto his head as he started to shift back into his human body. _

_ Movement to her right caught her eye and she looked up, blinking away the tears in her eyes and trying to ignore the pain in her heart. _

_ Another wolf was shifting back into their human form. _

_ Embry. _

_ “No,” she cried softly as she saw that he too was dead. _

_ Aidan stood up, her eyes looking around at the scattered bodies of her friends, her pack, all dead. _

_ Terror filled her as she looked for the body she needed to see. _

_ The sound of vicious growling raised her hopes when she didn’t see Jacob’s lifeless body among those around her. Despite the pain and fear at seeing her friends dead, Aidan pushed forward, moving closer to the sound of her soul mate. _

_ What she saw a few hundred feet from the location of the other wolves stopped her cold, ice filling her veins. _

_ Jacob was fighting with the demi-God turned vampire that wanted to turn her. _

_ He lunged for the vampire, but her eyes weren’t fast enough to keep up with their movements, not when her vision was blurred with tears. She furiously rubbed at her eyes to rid them of the tears, only to see the vampire wrap his arms around Jacob’s wolf neck. _

_ “No!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, rushing towards them, though unsure of how she could possibly stop the vampire. _

_ It was too late. _

_ The sickening crack of her soul mate’s neck echoed in her ears as the vampire let the wolf go. She watched as her russet wolf fell to the ground, dead. _

_ A blood curling scream escaped her vocals as she fell to her knees beside her wolf. He reverted back to his human body and she took him into her arms, tears flowing freely down her face as her body started to glow brightly with her pain. _

_ She cried and screamed with the pain that broke her heart, that broke her soul. _

_ “You’re mine now, Aidan. I have killed everyone you love, and now I will claim my prize,” the vampire all but cooed into her ear as her Olympian glow got to a blinding point. _

_ She screamed as his teeth sank into her neck and her entire body began to grow cold, like ice was filling her veins. _

\---

With a terrified scream, Aidan bolted up in bed gripping the comforters in fear. Sweat dripped from her brow, her body glowing from her fright and her pain.

“Aidan, sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Jacob’s voice was full of worry as he ran into the room in just cutoff sweatpants. His eyes first scanned the room and looked to Aidan when he saw no immediate threat.

She looked to him with wide eyes filled with tears and absolute terror. “Jake,” she cried, the tears escaping her eyes and falling down her face. Her hands released the comforter and reached for him like a child would reach for their mother.

Jacob’s heart ached at the way Aidan looked, so broken and defeated. He went to her, closing the gap in three steps, and sat on the bed. With a strong embrace, he held her trembling body against his.

Aidan wrapped her arms around him, her fingers digging into his back, not wanting to let him go. She sat in his lap with her face in his neck as she cried softly. “It was terrible,” she whimpered.

“It was just a dream,” he soothed, one arm wrapped around her and the other hand stroking her hair.

Slowly calming herself until the tears stopped flowing from her eyes, she pulled away to look up at him. “It felt so real. I felt you die in my arms, Jake,” she whispered, her voice straining with emotion. 

Her words made his heart ache; the emotion on her face breaking his heart with the earth shattering pain that twisted her expression; the way her two toned eyes sparkled with tears and seemed wild with fear made his gut twist in an unpleasant way. His eyes stung with tears as he brought his hand up and cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing the tears from her right cheek. 

“Aidan, it was a nightmare, a terrible nightmare. I’m right here holding you, alive. I’m not going anywhere, I promise,” he assured her, his voice strong with a softness that warmed her heart.

Blinking away the tears, Aidan nodded slowly, leaning into his hand. “A nightmare,” she breathed, closing her eyes and bringing her hand up to lay it on top of Jacob’s. The warmth from his hand moved through her, reaching into her soul and pushing away the terrors of her dream. She breathed a soft sigh of relief, the breath quivering slightly with the diminishing tears.

After a few calming breaths and when her racing heart to calm down, she opened her eyes and looked into the warm chocolate brown orbs of Jacob. “Will you stay with me today?” she asked him softly.

He opened his mouth to comply, say that he would stay with her for as long as she needed. Though, he knew he couldn’t stay, he had a shop to run and he had spent too much time away from the garage. With a soft, regretful look in his eyes Jacob pressed his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry sweetheart, I have to go to the shop today,” he explained.

Pain and fear flashed in Aidan’s eyes for a split second before it disappeared and she smiled softly. “I understand, I can’t really keep you to myself all the time,” she laughed softly.

Not wanting to leave Aidan alone to spend her day in fear, he pulled away from her and brushed the tears from her face. “You can come spend the day at the shop if you’d like. Seth and Embry will be there for most of the day, they won’t mind you hanging around,” he told her with his crooked smile. “I’m sure one of the girls would be willing to spend some time with you if you get sick of us,” he joked lightly.

The offer made her smile genuinely, relief washing over her. “I won’t be in the way?” she asked, concerned.

Jacob shook his head as he moved them so that they were laying back in bed. “Of course not, sweetheart. Now, there’s still time before I have to go to the shop and I could use some sleep. Will you be able to go back to sleep?” he held her against his side, sinking into the bed.

A soft sigh escaped her as she curled into his side, already feeling her eyes start to droop, the fear being pushed down by the happiness and warmth that filled her from being with Jacob. “I will now that you’re here,” she admitted as her right arm draped over his stomach, her left tucked underneath her body against his side.

Jacob smiled as he closed his eyes, a calm settling over him that he had never experienced in his life. 

Despite feeling groggy and tired, Aidan didn’t fall asleep right away. Instead she lay awake, her eyes closed as she listened to the silence of the night and the sound of Jacob’s heart beat beneath her ear.

The only thing the broke through the silence were snores from the shape shifter holding her. A small smile formed on her full lips as she cuddled against him a little more. There had been a time when she was annoyed by people snoring, but she was more soothed by his snoring.

With the feeling of being wrapped in her soul mate’s embrace, a warmth wrapping her soul in a golden blanket making her feel like she was basking in the sun, Aidan slipped into the darkness of sleep. Though, instead of the nightmare she was met with a wonderful dream of being with Jacob.


	7. Hope and Confusion

Aidan was pulled from a beautiful field of wildflowers within her dream by a warm touch caressing her arm. As she slipped farther away from the dream and closer into reality, she felt not just the warm body against her and the bliss that filled her soul, she felt the sun in the sky indicating that it was past dawn.

“Morning,” Jacob breathed the welcome as he kissed the top of her head, hearing the change in the heart beat with her waking up.

She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him, a small smile on her lips. “Morning,” she whispered before laying her head back on his chest. “When do you have to be at the shop?” she asked as she brought her arm from his stomach up to his chest, her hand lying flat on his chest.

Being so close to him, especially with him half naked, was nerve wracking, but she was slowly getting used to him. With him coming and going from patrol she often saw him without a shirt on, and it had taken a few days for her to not start glowing just from his appearance. When he stayed the night he always slept without a shirt, and she had eventually gotten used to having him in her bed just a few inches from her. Though, they had never really cuddled like this or the first night he had stayed with her. While she was nervous and flustered by being pressed against his body - his hard and warm body - she was getting used to being this close to his half naked form.

“Not for another couple of hours. Did you want to take a shower? I can make us breakfast if you’d like,” he offered as he brought his hand up from her arm to pull some of her hair from her face.

Laughter bubbled up in her chest and left in a small giggle. “You cook? I didn’t know you could,” she teased as she slowly sat up, leaving the warmth of his embrace.

His brown eyes brightened with his own laughter as he sat up, arching a brow. “I know how to cook, I just choose not to,” he informed her defensively.

“Sure, sure,” she teased, adopting his usual response. She moved to get out of bed, but his large hand lightly gripped her arm and pulled her back to him.

“Jake,” she started to protest but looked up at him to see the soft look in his eyes, a passion burning beneath it that sent a pleasant chill down her spine.

He reached up to cup her face in his hand and leaned down, pressing his lips to hers.

Aidan leaned into him, her eyes closing as that spark from last night burned her lips and sent delicious flames dancing through her body. It wasn’t a heated kiss, but she could feel his restraint in the way his lips moved slowly against her. Even when he pulled his lips from hers she didn’t open her eyes, opting to catch her breath.

When she finally opened her eyes he was looking down at her with a small smile. “Still glowing,” he observed. “I guess you’re still not used to me kissing you.”

“I don’t know if I ever will,” she admitted breathlessly.

He chuckled, a throaty sound that sent more pleasant chills down Aidan’s spine. “That makes two of us,” he admitted with an almost sheepish smile. “Kissing you is,” he paused, trying to find the right words.

“Amazing? Explosive? Earth shattering?” she offered.

Jacob chuckled again and nodded, leaning down and giving her lips a quick peck. Even the quick touch of their lips sent a shock running through her body, something she knew he felt too. “Yeah,” he breathed.

With a smile and great effort, Aidan pulled herself from Jacob’s grip and got out of bed. “I’m going to take that shower now and get ready. Oh, did you bring a change of clothes?” she asked, stopping in the door of the bathroom to look at him.

Jacob nodded as he sat on the edge of the bed. “My dad brought a bag with him yesterday,” he motioned to the black backpack next to the door opposite the Lovesac.

Aidan nodded and turned back into the bathroom. She hesitated, her hand on the door to close it before looking back at Jacob who was now kneeling at the back pack. “Jake?”

“Hm?” he didn’t look up from opening the backpack.

“Um, you’re more than welcome to leave some stuff here, if you want. I mean, in case you run here and need a change of clothes. And, uh, I have an extra toothbrush if you want it,” she offered, her cheeks coloring as she looked at the ground.

All she was met with was silence, and after a few moments she chanced a glance at Jacob to see that he was looking at her with a shocked and pleasant look on his face.

Forcing herself to breath, Aidan continued. “I’m not really suggesting you move in, it’s still way too early for that, but I think we should face the facts that you’re going to be here a lot. I just want to make sure you’re comfortable and never left having to go back and forth for something like a new shirt or just to brush or teeth or something,” she rambled.

“Of course,” he said with his crooked smile. “Not moving in, just leaving a few things just in case,” he assured.

Aidan looked up from the floor and nodded slightly, a smile tugging at her lips. “Just in case,” she repeated before closing the bathroom door. She pressed her back to the door and looked up at the ceiling, taking a few calming breaths and focusing on calming her racing heart. She hadn’t really asked Jacob to move in, but she knew that having a few things there was the first step to him moving in; and she wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about that.

The thought was thrilling - he would be there all the time, she would feel safe and happy on a regular basis. Though, it was also terrifying - she wasn’t used to all the aspects of being with someone physically, intimately or not. The risk that she could attract more vampires was always on her mind, and having Jacob around more than he already was increased that risk.

Pushing away from the door and stripping before stepping in the shower, Aidan released a sigh. All she had to do was give it time, and to talk to Jacob about her concerns. He would understand, he would be patient and wait for her to be ready.

Just like he let her kiss him first.

The thought made her smile as the hot water cascaded over her body. At least she didn’t start glowing with just the thought of their kisses.

Aidan spent her time shampooing and conditioning her hair, the smell strawberries and mint filled the bathroom, the steam from the hot shower increasing the calming effect of the mint. She didn’t rush through her routine of shaving and washing her body, even though she knew Jacob was waiting downstairs.

When she was done with her shower and the water turned off, she wrapped a plush white towel around her body and walked over to her sink. After quickly brushing her hair and grabbing another towel, she started to pat her hair dry as she went into the closet and started to get changed.

She emerged from the closet in a long sleeved red and black plaid shirt that stopped mid thigh, a fashionable black belt around her waist, black leggings, and mid-calf lace up heeled boots. She hung both towels up before facing her mirror and brushing her hair again before working it into a fishtail french braid. After securing the braid with a small brown elastic, she secured the necklace Jacob had given her around her neck. She left the bathroom and set her earrings on her vanity before going downstairs, instantly being greeted with the aroma of coffee and bacon when she walked into the hallway.

“I’m almost surprised you haven’t burned the bacon,” she teased as she sat on the end barstool where Jacob had left a black mug with coffee for her.

He looked at her over his shoulder from the stove. “I told you I can cook,” he grinned before returning to the food. She simply smiled before taking a sip of her coffee.

A silence fell between them, but it was a comfortable silence. Aidan sipped her coffee as she watched Jacob cook. He had changed into a pair of dark wash jeans and a fairly tight black t-shirt. The muscles in his back rippled with his movements as he cooked. She watched as he finished the bacon, an entire pack cooked and stacked on a plate to the right. A bowl of mixed eggs was poured into the pan and he started to make scrambled eggs.

Aidan turned her attention to window to her right, looking at the sky filled with clouds. Though, she could tell that they would clear up later in the day, the sun already shining brightly in the sky above the clouds. A small smile pulled at her lips as she hoped for a clear day in La Push.

A ding from the toaster oven pulled her from her thoughts and she looked over to Jacob as he pulled toast onto another plate that already had a couple of slices of toast. He put more more bread into the toaster oven before returning to the eggs.

“You know, it’s a good thing money isn’t an issue, otherwise I might go bankrupt just to feed you,” she joked, receiving a scoff from Jacob. 

With the eggs done, Jacob turned off the stove and put some of the eggs onto a plate with a few strips of bacon and two slices of dry toast. He turned and set the plate in front of her. “Speaking of money, I know you weren’t planning on getting a job, but what about teaching dance?” he asked as he put the rest of the food, including the toast from the toaster oven. The equivalent of six eggs was piled on his plate with about ten strips of bacon, and four slices of toast. He grabbed his cup of coffee and sat next to Aidan at the bar.

Eating a strip of bacon, Aidan frowned slightly as she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “I offered to teach Claire and Trisha how to dance, I’m not going to ask their parents for money for something I’m volunteering for,” she explained as she continued to eat.

Jacob paused from his meal, looking at her. “I’m not really saying you should charge them, but think about teaching others how to dance. You could have private lessons here, or you could open up a studio. I’m just saying you should think about teaching dance to pass the time and earn some more money,” he told her.

She sighed and continued eating, choosing not to respond but think about his words instead.

The rest of their meal went on in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Aidan was thinking about Jacob’s suggestion, about how it might be possible for her to teach dance at a studio. Though, she doubted there was already a studio in town. She was also thinking about when she would continue her training with Artemis, or even Athena, especially since she had all but told Jacob to move in with her. Now she was thinking of the fact that Jacob would be leaving a few of his things at her house, that he would probably be staying over more often.

While she was almost stressing out about how fast they might be moving, and how she wasn’t sure she was ready for anything else, but slowly coming to the realization that she did want something more, Jacob was starting to worry that he had upset her.

He didn’t want to bother her with getting a job, she obviously didn’t need a job, but he was worried about her staying cooped up in the house all day. Now that she knew everyone in the pack, and those associated with the pack, he didn’t doubt that she would see more of all of them. He just didn’t want that to be the only connections she made. She was an amazing woman, and a social butterfly from what her pictures from high school told him. Staying hidden away from the world and being, mostly, antisocial wasn’t the best for her.

Jacob wanted her to open up from her shell, wanted to see her smiling all the time and be who she really was - a bright person who lit up the room with her smile.

A cell phone ringing broke both of them from their thoughts. Jacob looked to the phone sitting on the counter between the wall by the doorway and the fridge. He stood and walked over to it, answering when he saw Embry’s name on the screen.

“Morning, Embry. Everything alright?” he asked when he answered.

Aidan finished her meal, downing the rest of her coffee as Embry spoke on the other end. She stood up and rinsed her dishes, leaving them in the sink and looking out the window at the forest, her back to Jacob. The clouds were slowly starting to thin, but she knew it would still be a few hours until the sun broke through.

“Alright, well I’ll be there in a bit,” he responded to his friend. “Yeah, we just finished breakfast. We’ll be over as soon as I clean up.”

He was silent as Embry said something. Aidan turned and looked at Jacob just as he rolled his eyes. “Yes, Embry, she’s coming to the shop,” he shook his head and stared up at the ceiling. “Embry, it’s not a man cave,” he groaned, making Aidan grin, holding back a small laugh. He turned his brown eyes to her, amusement filling them. “It might do some good having her around, maybe then you won’t be so annoying,” he joked before hanging up, not giving his childhood friend a chance to respond.

“That wasn’t nice,” she playfully chastised as she started walking to the stairs.

He merely shrugged with a lopsided grin pulling at his lips. “I’m his best friend, I’m allowed to say he’s annoying,” he responded as he went to his stool and picked up his plate, finishing off the two strips of bacon before rinsing his dishes.

Aidan started making her way upstairs. “I’m just going to brush my teeth and I’ll be ready,” she called down to him as she got to the top of the stairs. She returned to her bathroom and went straight to her sink where she started to brush her teeth.

A few moments later Jacob stood in the doorway. “Do you mind?” he asked, motioning to the second sink right next to the door to his right. She shook her head and waved her free hand indicating that she didn’t mind he used the other sink.

Standing there, both of them finishing getting ready for the day, Aidan couldn’t help but think about the future. This could be a daily thing between them - waking up together, eating breakfast together, getting ready in the bathroom together.

Just as she thought of that, an image filled her vision as if she were living in a completely different time.

The bathroom was filled with light pouring in from the window above the bathtub, everything was mostly the same, but the other sink, the one that Jacob was using was littered with a few random male products. She stood in front of her mirror, looking at her reflection and noticed that she looked the same, but there was a softer look to her and the fear that she could always see deep in her own eyes wasn’t there anymore. Her hair was a little longer and braided, pulled over her left shoulder.

Jacob joined her, looking at their reflection as he wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on top of her head. A glint caught her eye and she looked at his hand to see a gold band on his ring finger. She brought her hands up to cover his arms and the sparkle of a modest diamond ring on her finger filled her eyes.

The image was gone as quickly as it had come, leaving Aidan feeling breathless. She quickly spit the toothpaste from her mouth and rinsed, the Olympian glow having returned and needing to calm down.

“Aidan, are you okay?” Jacob’s soft voice filled her ears. She heard the water shut off from his sink and felt him approach.

It had felt so real that she could still feel his arms around her, burning through her t-shirt to warm her already hot skin. She stared at the running water in her sink, focusing on her breathing as she tried to calm her heart and push away the overwhelming joy that she was feeling.

What she had seen wasn’t just wishful thinking, an image conjured by thoughts of the future, it had been a vision. They didn’t happen often, but when they did she knew not to doubt them. The gift of prophecy was one of the gifts bestowed upon her as Apollo’s daughter. 

“Aidan?” Jacob’s voice was a little more concerned now as he put his hand on her shoulder. “What’s going on?”

Aidan looked up, pulling her eyes from the running water to look up at the man that she would one day be married to. The Olympian glow did not diminish as she faced him, her heart filling with so many emotions that she couldn’t force them all away. They were nowhere near the point of marriage, or really even thinking about it, but that was where they would end up. It was inevitable.

She loved this man looking at her, his eyes full of wonder and concern as he looked at her.

“Aidan?” he repeated.

Releasing the tooth brush onto the counter, Aidan took a step that brought her closer to his large body. “Nothing,” she whispered as she pressed her body against his, resting her head on his chest as her hands wound themselves around his frame and gripped his shirt.

“Doesn’t seem like nothing, you’re glowing,” he pointed out softly, his heart beating hard as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her even closer to him.

She made a soft hum of a sound as she closed her eyes, basking in the warmth and love that she felt from him. “I’ll tell you one day,” she admitted after a moment, getting used to the rush of emotions.

Jacob reluctantly pushed her from him and lifted her face to look at him, his fingers light on her chin. “Why won’t you tell me now?” he questioned softly, still amazed by the ethereal look she got when experiencing the Olympian glow.

As much as she wanted to tell him of her vision, tell him that on occasion she could see the future, and that she had seen them married. She shook her head with a small, secretive smile. “There’s a few things I would like to keep secret, for now,” she told him as she went on tip-toe to press her lips softly against his.

That wonderful spark that always accompanied their kisses was starting to become familiar to her. Aidan pulled her lips from his before it could go further, and her entire body complained at the separation. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, seeing her Olympian glow slowly diminishing in his eyes. “I promise I’ll tell you one day, but not today,” she said before pulling herself from his grasp.

He sighed, a little miffed that she wouldn’t tell him what brought on the Olympian glow. Though, he knew it couldn’t be anything bad from the look in her eyes. There was happiness and such joy in her two toned eyes that made his heart swell joyously. “Fine,” he grumbled after a moment. “I’ll let you keep this secret for now, but I hope you’ll tell me soon.”

A warm smile was her only response before she turned to her sink and picked up a stick of deodorant. “Why did Embry call?” she asked, changing the subject as she put the deodorant on.

Jacob turned and started walking into the room. “A shipment of parts didn’t come in this morning and he can’t find the number for the delivery truck,” he explained.

“Hm,” she mused as she walked out of the bathroom and picked up her purse from the Lovesac and made her way across the hall into the study. She retrieved a rather large book from the shelf,  _ Way of Kings _ by Brandon Sanderson. She put it in her purse before leaving the room again. Jacob was waiting in the hallway, backpack on his left shoulder. She frowned slightly, more than a little confused. “You’re not going to leave that here?” she asked, she had been sure he would take her up on the offer to leave stuff there.

“Nah, I’ll bring a few things by later,” he told her as he walked down the hall to the stairs. 

Relief filled Aidan as she began to follow Jacob down the stairs. She should have known there was no reason for her to fear that he wouldn’t take her up on her offer, he would not want to be away from her just as she would not want to be away from him. Yet, she was still a woman with all the insecurities that came with that, and she had indeed been afraid that he had not wanted to be closer to her.

“Do you mind driving?” Jacob asked as soon as she joined him at the bottom of the stairs. 

Aidan shook her head as she dug her keys out of her purse as they walked through the breakfast room and into the kitchen. She went to the fridge and pulled out two large reusable bottles. “Here,” she tossed one of the bottles at Jacob who caught it easily. She moved to the pantry and looked at the contents for a moment before grabbing a bag of Sunchips, a bag of pretzels, and a couple of meal bars.

Jacob chuckled at her. “What are you doing?” he asked as she turned to the fruit bowl on the counter with the bar counter and put an apple, an orange, and a pear in her purse. “What the hell? Is your purse bigger on the inside than it is on the outside?” he joked as she managed to fit the bag of chips and pretzels in as well.

Aidan rolled her eyes with a small smile as she started for the garage. “Just making sure we have some snacks in case either of us get the munchies,” she said as she walked into the garage.

“We will have lunch, you know that, right?” he questioned as they walked into the garage, locking the door as they exited the house.

After unplugging the car and both getting in the vehicle, Aidan started the fifteen minute drive to La Push. Jacob gave her directions to the shop as soon as they got to La Push. They got to the shop and he showed her to the office upstairs. Embry was busy working on a baby blue Volkswagen whose front tires were lifted on a ramp.

“Embry, we’re here. I’m going to take Aidan upstairs and then I’ll find out what happened to the delivery,” he informed his friend.

“Sounds good. Hey, Aidan!” Embry called from under the car.

“Hey, Embry,” Aidan responded as she followed Jacob up the stairs at the right of the garage. He opened the door to the upstairs apartment/office area. The area they walked into first was the shop office. A door to the left was open to show a small studio apartment that only had a bathroom, a tiny little kitchen with the basics and a couch that she suspected folded out into a bed.

Jacob motioned to the entire area, “Make yourself comfortable. I have to make a couple of phone calls before I make sure Embry isn’t messing up the car downstairs. If you need anything just come down.”

She nodded with a small smile and settled into a lounge chair by the window close to the desk. Setting her purse on the floor, she pulled the book from her bag as Jacob sat at the desk and started making his phone calls.

Aidan became so engrossed in her book that she didn’t notice when Jacob left to return to the garage. It wasn’t until she was 200 pages in and a few hours after they arrived that she looked up from her book, looking out the window she was sitting in front of. A sense of peace washed over her as she stared at the trees that surrounded La Push and filled her current view. 

For the first time in a long time, Aidan found herself hoping for a better future and picturing herself settling down and starting a family. A smile pulled at her lips as she imagined a life with Jacob, the two of them happy and together.

Still feeling that buzz of happiness, she pulled herself from the lounge chair and explored the little office and apartment that Jacob spent nights in when he wasn’t at home or at her place. Most of the things she saw were inventories of the garage, billing statements, and invoices. Very little in the office told Aidan about Jacob. It wasn’t until she stepped into the little apartment that she saw more of Jacob in the room.

The couch was worn and had a couple of pillows and a thin blanket tossed on its cushions. Jacob had probably tossed them onto the couch after folding the bed back into the couch. While the tiny kitchen was clean of clutter, Aidan suspected it was mostly due to the lack of use since Emily still volunteered to cook for the pack.

Moving from the small kitchen, Aidan walked to the far end of the studio apartment to a small dresser with pictures on top. There were pictures of Jacob with his family, the pack, and a few people Aidan didn’t recognize. She picked up on with Jacob and his sisters, the three of them laughing and obviously happy. Judging from the fact that he looked the same in the picture as he did today, she assumed that this was either recent or some time after he had initially phased.

Setting the frame down, she turned her attention to another picture, on of the pack as it used to be. They were sitting on the beach, enjoying themselves. Aidan noticed that Kim was sitting among them, as well as another woman. Though, she didn’t recognize the paler young woman. Aidan looked closer at the brunette in the picture, seeing a broken girl that had been pieced back together by the man who had his arm draped over her shoulders, a large grin on his face as he looked down on her happily.

Aidan’s chest constricted as she realized the man holding the paler woman was Jacob, and he was looking positively happy with her in his arms. Wanting to push the jealousy out of her heart, she set the picture down and continued to look at the other pictures. Instead of quelling the jealousy, another picture ended up fueling it when she saw the picture of Jacob before he had phased sitting with a girl in a garage next to a car he was fixing up. It was the same girl from the previous picture, and Jacob was looking just as happy and enamored by the girl in this picture as he did in the other one. 

She knew she shouldn’t be jealous, there was really nothing to be jealous about, but she couldn’t stop the feeling from gripping her heart as she looked at the obvious joy on both of their faces in the picture. As she set the picture back down a bracelet caught her eye. It was settled on the dresser right in front of the picture she had just set down. It was a charm bracelet, but only one charm was attached: a little wood carved wolf. It wasn’t identical to the one that was tied within the bracelet she had around her wrist, but she could see the similarities in the two pieces.

While Billy had carved the little charms within her bracelet, Aidan knew that Jacob had carved the wolf charm on this bracelet. Something told her it was for the woman in the picture, the one that made Jacob look so positively happy. It was a look she had seen on his face when he looked at her.

_ Jacob was happy with her, he was in love with her _ , the thought entered her mind and suddenly became her main focus. She frowned as she place the bracelet back on the dresser and stared at the picture of a young Jacob with the young woman. 

There was no reason for her to feel jealous of a young woman she hadn’t ever seen in person, especially since she and Jacob were soulmates. Aidan closed her eyes, her brows pulling together as she brought her fingers up to her temples and began rubbing the soft tissue there. There was no reason for her to be jealous, so she couldn’t understand the emotion coursing through her. It was a fiery emotion that burned her on the inside. 

She didn’t like it.

Shaking the thoughts from her mind, at least for the moment, Aidan turned away from dresser and walked out of the little apartment. She returned to the chair she previously occupied and picked her book back up. Unfortunately, she couldn’t focus on the words on the pages before her. Closing the book, Aidan turned her attention to the window and the view outside, her mind once again reeling with thoughts of jealousy. 

Confusion filled her heart and her mind as the jealousy consumed her.

Why was she so jealous?

Who was that girl in the pictures that had once made Jacob so happy?

What happened to her?

Wanting some answers, Aidan pulled her cellphone from her purse and pulled up Emily’s contact information. She hesitated when she pulled up a new text message.

Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to go down this road. Jacob was her soulmate and they were happy. They were meant to be together. He looked at her in a way she had never been looked at before.

She needed to know who that young woman was, who she was to Jacob, and where she was now.

Aidan began typing a message to Emily, hoping to meet up with the woman and get some answers.

After the message was sent she turned her attention back to the window and the world outside. The doubt and confusion that filled her was something that was shocking and scared her. She couldn’t understand why she felt this way.

Her phone chimed and she looked down to see that Emily had replied.

_ Sam is out with Trisha, come on over! :) _

With that, Aidan stood up from the chair and turned towards the door. Jacob was walking into the office with a small smile on his face.

“Where are you rushing off to?” he asked her, noting the hurried look and the frantic look in her eyes. A frown took the place of the smile as he took her hand in his. “What’s wrong?”

Aidan forced her confusion and jealousy to the back of her mind as she smiled up at the man that held her heart. “Nothing, I was just going to visit Emily,” she squeezed his hand.

He wasn’t convinced that nothing was wrong, but he didn’t want to push her. She would talk to him when she was ready, though a part of him was hurt that she didn’t want to talk to him about what was bothering her. Instead of pushing her, Jacob smiled again and squeezed her hand back. “Have fun, then. I’ll be done here by four,” he told her.

Aidan nodded and got on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek. While she was confused and jealous about the woman in the picture, she knew that they were meant to be together. Being close to him, being able to feel the love that filled her heart and made her warm all over reminded her that no matter what happened in his past, Jacob was with her now.

No matter what she found out, it wouldn’t change how she felt about him. She was in love with him and nothing could change that.

“I’ll be back,” she assured him before walking past him and down the stairs. She didn’t look back, so she didn’t see him watch her walk away, an almost pained and confused look on his face.

The walk to Emily’s house wasn’t terribly far, something Aidan figured would be true about any destination in La Push. When she got there she found the door open but a screen door closed. “Emily?” she called through the screen door.

“Come on in, Aidan,” Emily’s voice responded from within the home. 

Aidan walked in and closed the door behind her, looking around at the beautiful home. It wasn’t particularly small, but it wasn’t a large house either. The atmosphere that filled the home surrounded her and made her feel like she was being wrapped in a comforting blanket. She could feel the life and love that filled this home.

Emily’s voice broke Aidan’s thoughts and focus of looking at the home, “I’m in the kitchen.”

Passing through the living room, Aidan walked into the kitchen with an adjoining dining room where Emily was taking two muffin tins out of the oven. She set them on the counter behind her and smiled brightly at the newest imprint addition.

“What brings you around?” she asked as she pulled off the oven mits and set them on the counter next to the muffins.

Aidan, suddenly nervous, held her hands wrung her hands together. “Well, I actually wanted to talk to you about something,” she admitted softly.

With a look of concern and curiosity, Emily motioned to the table on the other side of the room. “Go ahead and sit down, I’ll pour us some tea,” she turned and grabbed mugs from a cupboard.

As she made the tea, Aidan watched her with a racing heart. It wasn’t that she doubted Jacob’s love for her.

_ But the doubt is there. He loved someone before you and he looked at her the way he looks at you. _

The thought forced itself from the depths of her mind and forced everything else away. She didn’t know why it was so persistent, she had never had these doubts before. When it came to soulmates she knew there was no stronger bond, they would do anything for each other and do nothing to hurt the other. No matter what feelings they had for anyone else in the past, their feelings for each other would always prevail and take precedence.

So why was she doubting Jacob’s love for her?

“Here you go,” Emily’s voice broke through Aidan’s thoughts as she set a mug on the table.

“Thank you,” Aidan whispered as she held the mug of tea in both hands, looking into the green liquid with steam rising off of it and dissipating in the air.

Emily sat across from the demi-Goddess and sat in silence, waiting for her to speak. When Aidan gave no indication of starting the conversation first, her brows furrowed and face twisted in confusion, Emily took initiative. “What’s bothering you, Aidan?” she inquired, lifting the mug to her lips and taking a sip.

Chewing her bottom lip, Aidan lifted her gaze from the mug to look at Emily. The scars on her face told a story about a time before there was peace in La Push, a story that Aidan wanted to know.

“There are a couple of pictures in Jacob’s apartment above the shop,” she started, averting her gaze from Emily’s to look at the tea again. “There’s a girl in them, a pale girl with brown hair and brown eyes. Who is she, Emily?” she asked quietly.

Emily took a breath at the mention of the young woman. Aidan lifted her eyes to a woman she now considered a friend to see that there was surprise and a little bit of pain in her dark brown eyes. “Why didn’t you ask Jacob about her?” she asked curiously.

Aidan shook her head and let her fingers glide along the handle of the mug. “The way he’s looking at her in the pictures, he loved her, I couldn’t ask him about this. Jacob would try to avoid talking about it by telling me it’s in the past, that he loves me and that I have nothing to worry about,” she confided without thinking. While the response had been given without thinking, she knew it was true; Jacob would skirt the topic by telling her that she was his imprint and the women from his past didn’t mean anything.

That wasn’t what Aidan wanted to hear. She needed to know what happened with her, what happened to them if he had loved her so much. Something told her that this woman was important to not only Jacob’s history, but to the history of the pack as well.

A small smile pulled at Emily’s lips as a soft look filled her eyes. “I’ve never seen an imprint relationship as strong as yours. I suppose you being an Olympian and seeing the soulmate bond has something to do with that,” she mused before looking out of a window behind Aidan.

Silence settled between the two women, Emily considering what to tell Aidan and the demi-Goddess waiting anxiously. A few moments passed before Emily sighed and nodded to herself, “I guess I’ll start from the beginning when Isabella Swan moved to Forks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The new semester is starting for me and I have a packed schedule for school. I will try to work on Chapter 8 when I can, but just like this one, it might take me some time to finish it. Thank you to those of you who have shown support for this story with kudos and bookmarks, I really appreciate it. I hope you all continue to stick around until the end of this story. Also, I know some of this chapter was a little confusing, but I promise it will all make sense in later chapters.


	8. No More Secrets

Emily told the story about Isabella Swan, at least from the perspective of the pack. Aidan listened intently about how Isabella, or Bella, had arrived in Forks and had quickly associated herself with the Cullens, the same vampires that used to reside on the property Aidan now owned - the same vampires that had suggested Aidan move to Forks so that she would be protected by the wolves; how Bella fell in love with one of the Cullens and he left her in order to protect her; how she had reconnected with Jacob and how he fell in love with her; how Bella found out about the pack secret and continued to spend more time with Jacob; how Bella had jumped from highest cliff by herself and caused the Cullens to return; how the red headed vampire created a newborn vampire army in order to kill Bella.

When it came to the newborn war, Emily paused and got them some more tea. Nearly an hour had passed but there was still no sign of Sam and Trisha.

“They wouldn’t talk about it for the longest time,” Emily said as she set a fresh cup of tea in front of Aidan before sitting back down. “Seth was broken up about it, blamed himself for not getting to them sooner.” Emily hesitated, resting her hands on top of her large belly. “He was nowhere near as distraught as Jacob, though,” she admitted almost hesitantly.

Aidan’s eyes looked down at her tea, watching the steam curl up from the hot liquid. She turned her eyes to look out the window again, trying to ignore the twinge of pain in her heart. It shouldn’t hurt her to know that Jacob had loved another before her, she couldn’t expect him to have never loved.

Noticing the slight change in her friend, Emily took a sip of her tea, letting the silence stretch out between them.

Minutes passed before Aidan finally looked at Emily. “What happened?” she asked quietly.

Emily didn’t respond right away, she looked into the other woman’s eyes to determine whether or not she should continue. There was a resolve in the beautiful emerald and cognac colored eyes that Emily couldn’t ignore. She let out a sigh as her hands absently rubbed her pregnant belly.

“Edward Cullen was protecting Bella from Victoria and her partner Riley. Seth had been distracted by another vampire and couldn’t stop Riley from fighting with Edward. Edward couldn’t fight both of the other vampires and with his attention on Riley, Victoria was able to get to Bella. Her hand was around Bella’s throat, her nails digging in. Seth was able to tear Riley from Edward so that he could go to Bella, but it was already too late. All Victoria needed was one second to kill Bella, that was all she needed. When Edward pulled Victoria from Bella, her throat was ripped open. He killed her but Bella was already dying, so he turned her.”

Emily stopped when she saw the color drain from Aidan’s face. “Aidan, are you okay?” she asked, concerned.

A chill ran the length of Aidan’s back. “All Victoria needed was one second to kill Bella, that was all she needed.”

Ice filled Aidan’s veins and she visibly shuddered.

One second.

For years Aidan had nightmares about the night her mother died. The actual events haunted her, but some nights the nightmare ended in her own death with her mother running into the room as the vampire sank his fangs into her flesh. In those nightmares her mother was always one second too late.

Her right hand moved from the mug to touch the left side of her neck. She had always taken the nightmares to be just that, a nightmare. Now she wasn’t so sure.

“Aidan, what’s wrong?” Emily’s worried voice broke through Aidan’s tortured thoughts. The pregnant woman was standing up and walking around the table. 

Tears pricked at Aidan’s eyes as more confusion filled her. “I…” she started, her voice cracking as the tears blurred her vision. “Bella wasn’t supposed to die, I was,” the words fell from her lips without her even thinking about it, but they felt right. Isabella Swan wasn’t supposed to die, at least not then; Aidan was supposed to have died, that she was sure of.

Shock filled Emily’s face and she quickly pulled a chair next to Aidan and sat down, pulling the other woman into her arms. “Oh, Aidan, that’s not true,” she said in hopes to reassure her friend.

Aidan couldn’t stop shivering as she realized how true her statement felt. Those nightmares where she died, where the vampire sank his fangs into her and the venom filled her veins like ice, it felt all too real now.

One second had changed everything.

Guilt filled Aidan’s heart and she sobbed into Emily’s shoulder. The Quileute woman tried to calm the crying demi-Goddess with soothing sounds, one hand holding her as the other stroked her hair. She didn’t know why Aidan thought she was supposed to have died and not Bella, or even why she was so broken up about it, but she knew that the woman was in pain.

After five minutes of crying, Aidan slowly stopped crying and pulled herself from Emily, rubbing the tears from her eyes and face. “Ten years ago I was attacked in my bedroom, a vampire almost killed me. My mother ran in and pulled me away from him before he could bite me, but if she had been a second later I would have died. One second, Emily, just one,” she said in a weak and trembling voice. Tears brimmed her eyes again.

Emily shook her head. “Aidan, that’s just a coincidence,” she said in hopes of reassuring her distraught friend.

Aidan shook her head as a few tears fell from her eyes. “There’s no such thing as coincidence, Emily, not when half of my family are Olympians. I was supposed to die in June of 2006 and Bella was supposed to live, but I lived and she died. I’m not even supposed to be alive,” the tears fell more rapidly as the realization became even more real. She wished it wasn’t true, that she could believe it was all just a big coincidence, but she could always feel it in her gut when the truth was spoken.

When Aidan started crying again, Emily led her into the spare bedroom downstairs. She sat with Aidan on the bed and let the woman cry. She wanted to believe that it was all a coincidence that a single second changed two people’s lives. What had her questioning it was the fact that Aidan had said she had been attacked in June ten years ago. June was when Bella had died.

Emily didn’t leave Aidan’s side until her sobs quieted and her breathing slowed, only interrupted by small hiccups. The demi-Goddess had cried herself to sleep. Emily pulled herself from the bed and closed the door behind her. Her heart went out to her friend as she went to her cell phone on the kitchen counter and called Jacob.

As Jacob answered Sam walked in through the door with Trisha following.

“Jacob, I hate to pull you away from the shop but,” she stopped as Jacob interrupted her. She frowned and nodded despite the fact that he couldn’t see her. “Yeah, she’s alright for the most part. Physically she’s fine, but we were talking about Bella and-” she was cut off again by Jacob.

At this point Sam told Trisha to go upstairs and walked into the kitchen, giving his wife a questioning look. She shook her head and mouthed “in a minute” before looking down at the counter. “She asked me about the pictures in your apartment, I couldn’t not tell her, Jake. But that’s not the point, the point is she’s in a lot of pain. She told me about the vampire that attacked her ten years ago and how her mother died to save her. Jake, the attack was in June 2006, Aidan thinks she was supposed to die and Bella wasn’t supposed to die.”

There was silence on the other end. Sam stared at his wife in complete shock.

Jake uttered something before the line went dead. Emily set her cell phone down and looked up at her husband with a sad look in her eyes. “It’s impossible, or it should be impossible, but what if the two attacks happened on the same day and at the same time?” she shook her head as she looked down at the counter.

Sam shook his head with a frown. “Aidan has gone through a lot and she still is, she’s confused,” he tried to rationalize the situation. Emily looked up at him with a deeply saddened look on her face.

“You didn’t see her, Sam. I watched the blood drain from her face and watched as she shuddered reliving a nightmare she always thought was just that, a nightmare, only to realize it was one second away from happening. One second, Sam. Just like how Seth beat himself up for not getting to Riley one second faster,” she held her belly as tears filled her brown eyes. She couldn’t help them from burning her eyes, her friend was in pain and wholeheartedly believed she should have died. Emily knew that Aidan somehow blamed herself for Bella’s death.

Jake barged into the house looking wild, his eyes wide with worry. “Where is she?” he questioned a little too loudly.

“Shh, she’s asleep in the guest bedroom,” Emily said, wiping the tears from her eyes. As Jacob started rushing towards the guest bedroom, Emily stopped him. “Jake, wait, you should know what happened.”

The large alpha stopped and it was apparent how torn he was from listening to his imprint’s friend and going to his imprint. After a moment he nodded and sat at the table with Emily and Sam, listening to Emily explain what had happened.

\---

Jacob sat at the table, silently staring at his hands resting on the surface. He was speechless and distraught from what Emily told him. Sam was also speechless, rubbing his wife’s back in a soothing manner as she calmed her own distraught nerves.

“How could she think she’s responsible for Bella’s death?” Jacob finally asked, confused and crestfallen.

Emily shook her head slightly and let out a sigh. “Honestly, I’m not entirely sure, but she mentioned the Olympians. She said that there is no such thing as coincidence when the Olympians are her family,” she replied, recalling the words said by her distressed friend.

“What could the Olympians have done to stop Aidan from dying if she thinks she was supposed to die?” Sam inquired. 

Before Emily or Jacob could say anything, Aidan stepped around the corner into the kitchen. Her eyes were a little swollen and still mildly red from the crying. “Someone had to have convinced the Fates to change our threads. My dying must have been connected with Bella’s survival or vice versa,” she responded with the only explanation she could come up with for why she would have those nightmares.

Her presence caused Jacob to stand abruptly from the table and rush over to her, worry etched in his face. He took her face in his hands and made her look into his eyes. “You can’t blame yourself for the past, Aidan. Bella’s death was not your fault,” he insisted, his voice was lowered but strong.

Aidan’s eyes welled up with more tears and with them came a frustration aimed more at herself than the wonderful man in front of her. “That’s just it, Jake, her death was my fault. I was supposed to die that night, I lived that moment in my nightmares for years and it was too real to just be something that my guilty mind came up with. One of the Gods, whom I don’t know, had to have talked to the Fates and convinced them to change mine and Bella’s destinies. Maybe it was Apollo who couldn’t let his daughter die, or maybe it was Aphrodite who didn’t want to see our love to end before it even began,” she was nearly hysterical by the time she finished, hot tears streaming down her cheeks.

Jacob’s thumbs brushed the tears away, his face filling with sorrow for his beloved imprint. “Whether or not they changed the threads of fate, Bella’s death is not your fault,” he whispered reassuringly.

Shock twisted Aidan’s features as stared up at him. “How could you say that? You loved her, Jake. She could have chosen you if she lived,” she cried softly.

A small smile pulled at Jacob’s lips as he let his right hand move from her cheek to push some of her hair behind her ear. “Bella was always going to choose Edward, I accepted that a long time ago,” he stated.

“But the pictures and the bracelet,” she mumbled with a frown.

“Memories of a dear friend, nothing more,” he explained. Before she could say anything, Jacob lowered his lips to hers. She instantly melted against him, her eyes drifting closed as he kissed her softly and with so much love. When he pulled away she was all but leaning against him to keep herself standing. “I might have loved her in the past, but I was meant to love you. Always,” he whispered against her lips.

Aidan opened her eyes and looked into the chocolate depths of Jacob’s eyes. While she no longer completely felt guilty for someone’s death, she wasn’t about to let the subject go. She had to know for sure if one of the Olympians had changed her fate and why they did it. Though, that was for another time when Jacob wasn’t around.

“I’ve been acting like a drama queen, haven’t I?” she questioned sheepishly.

A scoff from Sam behind Jacob caused Emily to slap his arm and Jacob grin. “Maybe a little, but no one’s going to hold that against you,” Jacob replied teasingly.

Knowing that it would do her no good to worry about who changed her fate and why, Aidan lifted her hands to her face and rubbed away the last of the tears in her eyes. Jacob let his hands fall to her shoulders as she rubbed her eyes. He was still worried about her, he knew she wouldn’t drop the issue of her fate being changed, but he also knew that he couldn’t do anything to stop her from getting the answers she wanted.

“Aidan!” Trisha cried enthusiastically from the stairs.

With her eyes still a little swollen and red, Aidan turned to look at the little girl, a smile on her face. “Hello, Trisha,” she acknowledged softly.

Seeing her red rimmed eyes, Trisha frowned and looked right at Jacob. “Did you say something to hurt Aidan’s feelings, Uncle Jake?” the little girl accused.

Sam started laughing and didn’t stop when Emily smacked his arm again. With a grin of her own, Emily stood from the table and walked over to Trisha, passing a smirking Aidan and a slightly appalled Jacob.

“Why would you think Uncle Jake said something to hurt Aidan’s feelings?” Emily asked as she knelt next to her daughter. 

The little girl’s frown deepened as she looked from Jacob and Aidan to her mother. “That’s why some of the girls cry in the movies and shows,” she explained in a matter-of-fact tone.

Aidan covered her mouth as a giggle escaped. She shrugged slightly when Emily glanced her way.

“Well, we can promise that Uncle Jake didn’t say or do anything to hurt Aidan’s feelings,” Emily reassured her daughter.

The little girl looked up at Jacob and her eyes narrowed at him. “He better not,” she mumbled, her tiny voice full of warning.

This made Sam start laughing again, and this time Aidan joined him. Emily stifled a laugh as Jacob gawked at the eight year old glaring at him.

“What’s with the little brats challenging me lately?” he wondered, exasperated. 

Aidan calmed herself and nudged him with her elbow. “Don’t take it personally, Jake, kids just love me,” she teased. She let the issues plaguing her fall to the back of her mind, letting herself enjoy the moment.

\---

Jacob eventually returned to the shop, albeit reluctantly as Aidan was staying at Emily and Sam’s. Aidan stayed to play with Trisha for a little bit so that way Emily and Sam could spend a little time together. The demi-Goddess eventually pulled away from Trisha who decided she wanted to watch tv. Saying good-bye to Sam and Emily, thanking the latter for talking to her and apologizing for her crying, Aidan left the house and started walking back to the shop.

Stopping halfway, Aidan looked towards the ocean and felt determined to get the answers she needed. Turning, she walked to the beach. When she got to the edge of the beach she realized the area was too open, anyone could see her calling for the Gods and think she was crazy. That was the last thing she wanted.

Not wanting to give up, Aidan started walking along the beach, heading south. It took a little while, but she found a path that lead up the side of the cliffs. Hiking her way up, Aidan determined that the top of the cliffs would be the best place. The woods were at her back and she was far enough away from prying eyes that she wouldn’t run the risk of seeming insane.

When she got to the top of the cliffs she faced the ocean and stared at the horizon, steeling herself to possibly being ignored.

“Dad, I need answers, I need to know what happened ten years ago,” she demanded to the skies and open air.

Nothing.

A soft breeze rose up from the ocean, but otherwise there was no response.

“I deserve to know what happened!” she fumed, clenching her fists. 

Again there was no answer, not even a hint of a response.

“Aphrodite!” she roared the name, her anger and frustration getting the best of her. Aidan hated that the Gods did what they pleased with no thought to others. Yes, they were Gods and could do whatever they wanted, but she figured they should own up to mistakes or own their actions.

Fat chance of that.

When she got no response from even her aunt who promised to always come when she was called, Aidan felt her anger build up within her, her blood boiling and the fire within rising. “You can’t all ignore me, I know you can hear me, when can’t you hear one of your children calling out to you? So you’re choosing to ignore me, you’re choosing to ignore the fact that someone changed my fate! Why? Why did I get to live and my mother and Bella die? What’s so important about my life that someone changed the threads of fate just to save it?” she ranted, her voice raised and teetering between anger and sorrow. Hot tears filled her eyes as her hands began to glow red with the heat building inside of her.

“You all think you can get away with toying with humans’ lives, screwing with someone here, impregnating someone there, all but abandoning your children when they need you the most! I’ve had enough of it, I’ve had enough with your games. I want answers, I deserve answers!” she thundered, her nails digging so deep that they cut into her palms and a few drops of blood dripped to the ground. The deep red liquid hit the grass and sizzled from the heat meeting cool grass.

“It would be wise of you to calm down,” a soothe voice, deep in its femininity, stated from behind the enraged demi-Goddess.

Aidan turned to see Athena in a violet dress, her deep auburn hair pulled up in a high ponytail and her stormy grey eyes watching her in a calculated manner. Aidan’s green and cognac eyes narrowed.

“Calm down? Why in Hades would I calm down, Athena? I just realized that one of you decided to change my fate and Jacob’s fate, toying with our lives in the process. How do you expect me to calm down?” she yelled at the Goddess of Wisdom, her eyes blazing with an internal flame she barely kept in check.

Athena’s stormy grey eyes closed for a moment as she breathed out a sigh. Opening her eyes and looking at her niece in mild sympathy, she took a step forward with open hands. “You have every right to be angry, Aidan, the Olympians interfered in the lives of mortals for thousands of years just because we could. It wasn’t until one of our children turned into a vampire that Zeus forbade us from interfering anymore,” she explained softly.

Fiery green and cognac eyes narrowed at the Goddess. “So why did someone interfere with my life? Why did someone change fate so that I would live but my mother and Bella died?” she inquired, her voice low but full of rage.

“Bella was going to die regardless of what happened to you,” Athena admitted. “She chose the vampires over her humanity and would have ended up being turned into a vampire. She would have died giving birth to a vampire half breed if she had lived that night of the newborn war.”

This news stilled Aidan’s heart stilled at this new piece of information.

Athena watched as the information processed in Aidan’s mind, her eyes slowly losing their fire for a moment. “If I had died and Bella had lived, would my soul have ended up in the body of that half breed?” she whispered.

The Goddess nodded.

“So either way, Jacob would have found his imprint, he would have been happy no matter what.” This fact was mildly comforting to Aidan, knowing that Jacob would have been happy whether or not she, the demi-God, had lived or died. Though, that didn’t change the fact that the Olympians had interfered and meddled in her life.

The fire returned to her eyes.

“So if Bella was going to die no matter what and Jacob would have found his soulmate no matter what, why would one of you change my fate? Why did you let my mother sacrifice her life so that I could live alone?” her voice wavered in her pain and anger, her hands clenching into tight fists again. Her hands started to give off an intense heat, the Olympian glow being focused to her hands.

“I couldn’t watch as you and my descendant died at the hands of a vampire. Your fate could have gone either way, it all depended on one second, I didn’t have to go to the Fates to ensure you lived. I went behind Zeus’ back and made sure Seth tripped up and that your mother was alert that night you came home with Nick,” she explained.

“You went against Zeus just to save me and not my mother?”

Athena smiled faintly, her eyes filled with sorrow. “I could have saved both of you. It was not my intention to leave you alone in this world Aidan,” she whispered.

“What?” Aidan’s heart clenched in pain.

“Zeus realized what I was doing and punished me by letting your mother die. She had the training to kill that vampire, but he made her think that killing herself was the only way to save you. Taking you to Olympus would have been the next step, but Zeus refused that as well. He made sure that none of us directly interfered in your life after that,” Athena told the demi-Goddess.

White hot anger consumed Aidan the more Athena spoke. Her nails dug deeper into her palms and the blood dripped to the ground, sizzling and steaming as it fell on the grass. While she knew that her situation wasn’t completely Athena’s fault, she was the only Olympian in front of her, and when someone is consumed with such anger nothing can stop them from lashing out at anyone or anything.

Aidan lunged for Athena, her sudden speed catching the Goddess off guard for a moment. Athena barely managed to step to the side, narrowly avoiding Aidan’s punch directed for her face. Though, the heat which was concentrated in Aidan’s fists radiated with such intensity that it almost burned the Goddess’ face. 

As Aidan continued to throw punches and kicks, Athena moved swiftly to dodge each, her eyes moving quickly to calculate the next move and act accordingly.

To the untrained eye and to anyone who didn’t know Athena, they would think she was simply appeasing the angered demi-Goddess; the Goddess of Wisdom had thousands of years of experience with fighting under her belt while the demi-Goddess of the Sun only had a few weeks of training. To anyone who knew Athena could tell that she was barely evading the heated blows.

Aidan’s eyes blazed brightly as the Olympian glow completely consumed her hands. She was starting to realize that Athena was reading her moves. As she threw another right hook, Athena turned her body slightly as she stepped to the side in order to avoid the blow. Unfortunately for her, Aidan had anticipated this turned her body slightly into the throw. She slid her leg around, her foot on the ground, so that she tripped the Goddess.

With a startled gasp Athena fell to the ground. Aidan fell to her knees straddling the Goddess’ chest. An anger filled her that she hadn’t really known she had, it was a burning hot emotion that she had never truly experienced before.

Athena’s stormy grey eyes looked up at her niece with a mixture of sympathy, fear, and sadness.

“I’m tired of you all toying in people’s lives, in the lives of those who are supposed to be family, and then thinking you can get away with it. Jacob would have been fine, he would have been happy, so instead of just letting things play out the way they were supposed to, you interfered and my mother is still dead,” she all but growled, gripping the front of the gown Athena wore. It wasn’t logical to take her anger out on Athena, she had said that Natalie should have lived but Zeus prevented it. It should be the King of the Olympians she took her anger out on, he was the one who made it so that she was alone.

Unfortunately, logic doesn’t process correctly in the mind of someone filled with pain and anger.

Aidan raised her first to punch the Goddess, her emerald and cognac eyes burning with such intensity that would have any mortal shuddering.

“Aidan!”

Jacob’s voice caused Aidan to pause, her fist in the air poised to strike. She didn’t look towards him emerging from the woods, she knew that looking at him would soothe her and the anger would dissipate.

“Sweetheart, you’re angry, I understand, but is hurting her really going to make you feel better? It’s not going to fix the past,” he moved closer to her, his voice trying to reason with her.

Her heart clenched in pain but she still did not look up at him. “You still would have imprinted if I had died. Bella would have--”

“Still been turned into a vampire,” Jacob interrupted her. “You asked me where I would stand with you if it hadn’t been for the imprint. I would be head over heels for you, Aidan. You’re strong, much stronger than you think; you shine with a light that isn’t part of your Olympian blood; you make those around you happy just by being around, and when you dance you bring joy to those watching you. Aidan, you are the most kind hearted and caring person I have ever met.”

Aidan’s resolve faltered and her muscles started to relax, her eyes slowly losing the fire.

In response Athena relaxed and reached up to take Aidan’s fist in her hands. “What we have done to you is terrible, but I swear it was never supposed to be like this. My intention was always to see you happy, Aidan. If it were in my power to do so, I would bring your mother back to you,” she whispered as Aidan moved away and sat beside the Goddess. Athena sat up, still holding the demi-God’s hand which was no longer in a fist but trembling.

Aidan’s eyes lifted to look into the stormy grey orbs of the Goddess of Wisdom. “Why would Zeus take my mother away? Why would he stop you from changing my fate by taking her away?” her voice trembled as tears filled her eyes.

Jacob moved to kneel behind his imprint, his hands falling lightly onto her shoulders.

A heavy sigh escaped Athena as her composure crumpled and her shoulders slouched. “The Olympians are responsible for the demi-God turned vampires,” she admitted warily.

Aidan visibly tensed and Jacob’s fingers tightened on her shoulders. “What?” Aidan questioned, her voice thick with disbelief. 

The Goddess released Aidan’s hand and let her own hands fall into her lap, her eyes staring down at them. “It’s a topic no one discusses because of how ashamed we are of it, but thousands of years ago when we still openly accepted our demi-God children, there was a war amongst mythical creatures on Earth. A number of the darker creatures, including the vampires, banded together to attack us Olympians. The demi-Gods, lead by a child of Zeus--” she was cut off by Aidan’s flinch.

“Was it Hercules?” she questioned.

Athena shook her head. “This was even before his time,” she informed her niece. “Zeus’ child lead a small army of demi-Gods against the creatures in order to protect Mount Olympus. The demi-Gods were victorious, but in the process their leader became hungry for power and immortality.”

“I don’t understand, are demi-Gods not immortal?” Jacob questioned with a frown.

Aidan was the one to answer, shaking her head. “A demi-God is mortal, only immortal if given ambrosia from Mount Olympus,” her voice was quiet as she looked into Athena’s stormy grey eyes. “He asked for ambrosia and was denied,” it was more a statement than a question, but the Goddess nodded.

“Zeus refused to give immortality to this demi-God, seeing the thirst for power and how it was twisting him. This drove the demi-God to turn to the very creatures he had defeated, he has been a vampire ever since. If the Olympian blood is diluted the change is less likely to occur, but for a direct descendant of an Olympian, the change is assured,” she finished with a blank look, watching Aidan’s reaction.

Aidan sat next to the Goddess of wisdom, her own face void of emotion. Jacob knelt behind her, his hands still resting on her shoulders as he mulled over the information, especially that of how demi-Gods weren’t immortal like he’d thought.

“Now he’s building an army of demi-Gods turned vampire in order to take on the Olympians,” Aidan’s voice was almost deadpan as she spoke. “He wants me as the newest recruit due to the fact that Apollo is my father and my mother is a descendant of Aphrodite and you; making me stronger than any of his current vampires.”

Athena gave a curt nod. “It’s possible that you’ll even be stronger than him, but there’s really no way to tell. In theory, you should be stronger despite his father being Zeus since you have the blood of three different Gods flowing through your veins.”

Jacob pulled himself from his thoughts and frowned slightly. “So he sends some lacky to do his dirty work. Even if we stop this vampire now, someone else will just come for her. We have to kill the leader in order for it to stop completely,” he stated with a firm voice.

Athena nodded, though her face still blank.

Aidan closed her eyes and leaned back into Jacob’s chest. “No one knows where he’s at. If they had, they would have told us,” she muttered under her breath, knowing he could still hear her.

They sat in silence for some time before Athena finally stood.

“May I have a word with my niece in private?” she asked Jacob politely.

Jacob’s fingers flexed slightly on Aidan’s shoulders, silently asking if she was fine with him leaving.

Aidan opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him. “It’s fine, I’ll meet you down the hill,” she smiled slightly. 

Taking a moment to look in her eyes, Jacob hesitated to respond. 

Heat pooled in her chest as Jacob lowered his lips to press lightly against the corner of her mouth in a tender kiss. “I’ll be waiting,” he promised before standing, pulling her to her feet. “I have a few more things to do at the shop but we’ll go home after, okay?”

Aidan’s heart skipped a beat at his referencing her home as his, something she was sure he could hear, though he made no reaction. The fact that he was seeing her home as his as well made her both overjoyed and terrified. Instead of showing her fear, she nodded with a small smile.

Jacob nodded after a moment and turned, walking along the trail down the hill towards the beach.

Whand she figured he was out of earshot, Aidan turned to find Athena at the edge of the cliff looking out at the ocean. She stepped up to stand next to her aunt.

“I’ll train you,” Athena started. “There’s only so much Artemis can do, so I will step in to help you train. It will be a lot more difficult, but it’s necessary for you to be able to protect yourself.”

Aidan nodded as her eyes focused on the ocean; calm waters farther out with choppy waves closer to the cliffs and shoreline.

“What should I expect and when?” she asked the warrior beside her.

Silence settled between them for a few moments. “We will begin tonight.” she finally answered. At Aidan’s attempt to protest, Athena continued, giving the demi-God a flat look. “If you are unable to sneak away from a shifter there’s no hope for you to ever beat a vampire,” she told her matter of factly.

Aidan’s lips pressed together in a thin line as she turned her gaze from Athena back to the ocean. Sneaking away from Jacob while he slept beside her in bed. She had been able to avoid the pack while they patrolled, but that had always been with the assistance of Artemis.

Was she capable of sneaking out without any help?

Athena spoke up once more, effectively breaking through Aidan’s thoughts, “Your time dancing and training with Artemis will benefit your training now. Unfortunately, we still do not know what weapon will best suit you.” She fell silent once again, drawing Aidan’s attention back to her. Athena had a thoughtful look on her face, her stormy gray eyes looking off to the horizon but not really seeing it.

“Your skills in archery is excellent as is your ability to wield a dagger, as would be expected. Though, nothing to say they are your style of fighting.” She paused as her brows drew together ever so slightly. “We will have to see how you do with swords, they are the most likely weapon for you to have an affinity,” she muttered thoughtfully.

Aidan felt useless to this one sided conversation, knowing that Athena wasn’t seeking her input.

Finally, Athena turned her thoughtful gaze to Aidan. “I have an idea about your weapon. Meet me here at three in the morning and we will begin your training.”

Before Aidan could say anything, the Goddess disappeared in a soft, beautiful flash of gold.

A groan escaped her vocals as her shoulders slumped. “How in Hades am I going to sneak away without Jake knowing?” she mused out loud before turning and making her way down the hill to where said person was waiting for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for how long it has taken me to get this chapter posted. I was, and still am, in search of a Beta reader so that way I can try and give you all better chapters. Not only that, I'm trying to work out the plot and make sure you all have a good story. So, with that being said, if any of you are interested, please let me know! ALSO! I have CH 9 and 10 written. But I'm not sure if I'm happy with 10. I will hopefully post again next week if I'm able to fix 10 and continue with 11.


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